Qin Xiao stared at those restless hands for a few seconds, as if attempting to accept reality, before looking up at Chu Jiubian again.

The room was silent.

Bai Lihong blinked his big, round eyes, stared at his uncle and then at Xiansheng, and turned around to run outside.

Right after, a sweet, childish voice sounded from the other room: “Xiao Hong, Xiansheng has woken up. Please serve a meal now.”

From the child’s perspective, it seemed that Xiansheng was sleeping soundly and his uncle had woken him up.

Xiansheng had looked a little angry and grabbed his uncle’s collar.

He feared a fight might break out!

Bai Lihong knew that some people could get a temper when they weren’t fully awake – for example, his mother. If she didn’t get enough sleep, she would be unhappy all day and wouldn’t give anyone face. Only when she ate her favorite pastries would her mood improve.

So good food should be prepared quickly for Xiansheng, and he wouldn’t be angry with Jiujiu any longer.

Even if a fight did break out, he knew that his uncle would give way to Xiansheng.

Xiansheng was frail and was always getting injured, while his uncle was highly-skilled in martial arts and wouldn’t get hurt even if Xiansheng hit him a couple of times.

Of course, it would be better if the two of them didn’t fight. Bai Lihong would try his best to get the meal served quickly.

Inside the room, the stagnant atmosphere was somewhat dispelled by the child’s voice.

Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Seeing that the other party hadn’t given much of a reaction, Chu Jiubian’s competitive spirit was aroused.

The wicked tendencies hidden within his personality stirred, and his hands resting over the other’s pectorals slowly slid down.

As soon as his fingertips touched firm abdominal muscles, he could clearly feel the man’s body tense up even more.

Chu Jiubian chuckled, only to see Qin Xiao smile as well.

Qin Xiao released his grip on Chu Jiubian’s nose, then grasped his slender wrists to stop them from continuing on their path.

Chu Jiubian could easily pull his wrists out of that gentle grip, but he didn’t move. Instead, his smile deepened, and a hint of delight appeared in his usually indifferent eyes.

“What’s wrong with touching?” he asked. “Are you shy?”

With light force, Qin Xiao pressed the young man’s arms down on his pillow.

Then he pressed one knee down between the other’s legs and leaned over him. In an instant, the gap between them was shortened to an ambiguous, yet non-offensive distance.

“What is your identity now, Young Master?” the man asked in a deep voice.

Chu Jiubian retorted: “What do you think?”

“In short, not a god.”

“You still don’t believe me?” Chu Jiubian asked, somewhat surprised.

He’d thought that once he took out the iron wok, the other party was already 80% convinced. And with those few gunshots that shocked the entire capital, he’d thought he believed him completely.

But now it looked like Qin Xiao still didn’t believe him.

Qin Xiao softly stroked the skin on the insides of his wrists with his fingertips, saying meaningfully: “Under such circumstances, how can this lord believe you?”

Chu Jiubian turned his head to look at his left wrist, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

“Believe me or don’t.” He pushed Qin Xiao away and sat up, walking out without looking back.

The young man’s tall, slender figure vanished behind the screen.

Qin Xiao gazed at the ink wash landscape painting on the screen, rubbing his fingertips together.

The sensation against his hand didn’t lie. He had clearly felt several rough scars on the inside of the young man’s left wrist.

Qin Xiao was not a scholar. He naturally knew which parts of the body could be fatally injured.

Besides the heart, throat, and other well-known organs, there were also the thighs and wrists.

He recalled what he’d seen last time –  the bloodstains on Chu Jiubian’s inner garments and the fleeting glimpse of intersecting scars.

If he was a god, why would he have so many scars?

Had he sustained those injuries before becoming a god?

What had Chu Jiubian experienced before that?

Chu Jiubian went to the outer room, a hint of solemnity in his light-hued eyes.

These injuries had been with him for so many years, new ones covering the old, that he had gotten used to them.

He even instinctively felt that this was a very normal thing, and to avoid picking at the scars, he always deliberately ignored them.

His agent had suggested surgery multiple times, but he refused each time, preferring to add a requirement that he not be forced to show skin rather than capitulating.

It wasn’t until just now, when Qin Xiao questioned his divine status due to the scars on his wrist, that he suddenly recognized them as a huge vulnerability.

No one could dictate what gods should be like, but in the eyes of the public, gods should be noble and aloof, looking down on all living beings from on high.

That was why Chu Jiubian’s identity as a “god” was previously so hard to accept in the capital.

Because people felt that a god shouldn’t descend to earth, or rather, shouldn’t appear amongst them as a tangible “person.”

Of course, immortals could have experiences before becoming gods and leave behind works such as “The Hard Road.” But after ascending, they should no longer have such lamentations and reflections, and certainly should not have scars all over their bodies.

Chu Jiubian habitually picked at the scars on his wrist a couple of times before stopping abruptly.

“System, is there any medicine that can remove scars?” he asked inwardly.

[Thirteen scar removal remedies have been located for Host. Given the large amount of scarring on Host’s body and their varied ages, it is recommended to use the third scar removal cream. It works the fastest, and will make all of the scars on Host’s body disappear within a month, as if he has been reborn. Only 13 Faith Points are required.]

Chu Jiubian didn’t even blink: “I’ll buy it.” This was a necessary investment.

The medicine was placed into the System’s inventory, and Chu Jiubian’s tense nerves relaxed.

Wasn’t Qin Xiao concerned about his scars?

Then once the scars were gone, he would show Qin Xiao smooth skin worthy of a god!

“Xiansheng.” Bai Lihong peeked into the outer room and said cutely: “It’s time to eat.”

Chu Jiubian raised his eyebrows.

He felt that the child was acting a little timid, and seemed even more well-behaved than before.

Just as he walked over, intending to ask if something had happened, the child seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and become spirited again.

Chu Jiubian: “ ? ”

Bai Lihong had initially worried that Xiansheng would be angry, and was relieved that he wasn’t.

When his mother got angry before, he didn’t dare speak much and had to behave even more obediently.

Then his mother, amused by his cautiousness, would hug and kiss him affectionately.

At the thought of this, the child’s expression turned lost.

But it only lasted a moment before he collected himself again.

His mother said he should be brave and strong. He could do it!

Seeing the child’s expression alternate between happy and sad, Chu Jiubian guessed that he was probably missing his mother again.

He bought a bag of fruit candies suitable for children from the System. Then he chose an apple-flavored one, removed the wrapper, and magically produced it before placing it in the child’s palm: “Xiansheng brought this candy from the immortal realm. Have a taste, Your Majesty.”

Bai Lihong raised his little hand to sniff the round candy in his palm, and his eyes lit up: “It smells good, ah. Sweet.”

No child disliked sweets. Not even an emperor.

The child glanced behind Chu Jiubian and said: “Jiujiu, the candy Xiansheng gave me smells so good! Can I eat it?”

Qin Xiao kept a close eye on him, and didn’t let him eat many sweets.

Chu Jiubian turned and saw that the man had come out, so he reached out and took the candy from the child’s hand.

It was a hard candy. He took out a clean handkerchief, wrapped the candy in it, then went to the table and smashed the candy with a vase.

Bai Lihong clasped his little hands to his chest, staring blankly as his Xiansheng performed this series of actions. The candy was then returned to his palm.

Unlike before, the candy was now spread across the handkerchief in many small pieces, one of which Xiansheng ate.

Xiansheng also wanted candy?

Bai Lihong blinked his clear, innocent eyes, looking curiously at him, and then at his uncle.

When Qin Xiao witnessed this scene the moment he came to the outer room, he immediately knew what Chu Jiubian was doing.

He was telling Qin Xiao that the candy wasn’t poisoned.

“You can eat the candy after finishing your meal,” Qin Xiao told Bai Lihong.

Bai Lihong readily agreed, and carefully stowed the handkerchief in his pocket.

Qin Xiao glanced at Chu Jiubian’s expression again, but could glean nothing from it, leaving him a little unsure.

Chu Jiubian really didn’t have any other thoughts on the matter. He felt that it was right for Qin Xiao to be cautious.

If someone else suddenly appeared and offered Bai Lihong food or drink, Chu Jiubian would be suspicious too.

However, he wouldn’t behave like Qin Xiao – he would just have the System scan it.

He treated all of this as a matter of course, not noticing the unnatural expression on Qin Xiao’s face.

The three of them sat down at the dining table.

Today’s meal had been prepared by Matron Zhong and her apprentices in the Imperial Kitchens. Knowing that Qin Xiao and Bai Lihong would be dining at Yaotai Residence, they’d had it delivered here.

The cooks in Yaotai Residence’s small kitchen were also using iron woks for cooking now, and although they weren’t as skilled as Matron Zhong, they could still make quite a few dishes.

Chu Jiubian had been eating at Yangxin Hall recently, so the cooks’ skills had been used more to feed Xiao Xiangzi and the others.

The three of them usually chatted during meals, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.

But today, nobody spoke.

Bai Lihong just proceeded to eat his food in silence with no need for someone to wait on him. This was a kid who loved to eat.

However, his mind was entirely set on that sweet candy, and even the stir-fry in his mouth was unable to distract him.

Chu Jiubian felt that he had lost his composure in front of Qin Xiao just now.

That phrase “believe me or don’t” made it sound like he was angry out of embarrassment.

He needed to calm down right now, adopt his usual persona of having everything under control, and try to make Qin Xiao forget what had happened in the inner room as soon as possible.

Qin Xiao remained silent, but his gaze swept continuously over Chu Jiubian’s face.

He couldn’t tell what was on his mind.

After finishing half a bowl of food, Bai Lihong rinsed his mouth and asked Eunuch Hong to help clean his face and hands, then looked at Qin Xiao with beseeching eyes.

“Eat up,” Qin Xiao said.

At once, Bai Lihong beamed with joy and took the handkerchief from his bosom. He spread it out, then picked up a smaller fragment and placed it in his mouth.

The rich flavor of green apples flowed over his taste buds, and his face brightened in delight.

Such a little kid making such a face was as cute as a furry little animal.

Chu Jiubian couldn’t help but smile, and Qin Xiao was also amused.

“Is it really that tasty?” he asked.

Bai Lihong nodded repeatedly and handed the handkerchief to him, saying: “Jiujiu, have some. It’s so sweet!”

Qin Xiao actually reached out and took the biggest piece, then put it in his mouth.

Bai Lihong: “ ? ! ”

He stared at his uncle in disbelief, then at the small fragments of candy left in his hand, unable to accept reality.

That was the biggest piece!

He couldn’t bear to eat it, but Jiujiu did!

Qin Xiao swirled the candy around in his mouth with the tip of his tongue, savoring its rich sweetness. “It is indeed very sweet,” he said.

Bai Lihong gave a heavy “hmph,” then wrapped the handkerchief up and stuffed it in his pocket. His little mouth was pursed in a pout, and he muttered something indistinctly that sounded like: “Jiujiu is so greedy.”

Chu Jiubian’s expression turned strange.

Could it be that this uncle and nephew would have a falling-out over something so trivial?

But it also couldn’t be called a trivial matter.

At this point, Qin Xiao snatching the child’s candy might seem insignificant, but as he continued to snatch more and more things, the conflict would naturally escalate.

He loved this child.

Chu Jiubian could tell that Qin Xiao was genuinely concerned for him and worried about him eating too much candy and getting tooth decay.

It was also true that this child was all he had left of his sister. How could he not cherish him?

Even if the child grew up and was no longer in his camp in the future, Qin Xiao might not necessarily do anything to him.

Bai Lihong didn’t seem like an ungrateful child, and there were no treacherous servants around him. With Hong Fu’s abilities and emotional intelligence, he would never want to see the two turn against each other, and would definitely attempt to mediate in any way he could.

And even without Hong Fu stepping in, Bai Lihong depended on and admired Qin Xiao, and he probably wouldn’t consider his uncle an enemy.

So why had these two fought so fiercely in the original story?

Was it really true that power could completely distort a person?

The thought suddenly occurred to Chu Jiubian that he was bound to this world for the rest of his life. So when the young emperor grew up, would Chu Jiubian also become someone he feared?

And what about Qin Xiao? Would he also turn against him for power and profit?

If they were destined to have a falling-out in the future, shouldn’t he adjust his attitude now and return to a “cooperative” state of estrangement between them?

It seemed that they had all crossed certain lines.

“Xiansheng, are you okay?”

Chu Jiubian looked down and met the child’s worried eyes. A small hand clutched his fingers.

He smiled faintly and squeezed the child’s chubby little hand: “Good child. Xiansheng still has plenty of candy here, enough for you to eat until you’re seventy or eighty.”

“Wow!” Bai Lihong exclaimed. “Then I can keep asking Xiansheng for candy?”

“Of course you can.”

“Thank you, Xiansheng! Xiansheng is so kind to Miaomiao!”

Qin Xiao nudged the child’s shoulder and said: “Be careful not to rot your teeth.”

He’d eaten the biggest piece for fear that eating so much candy at once would give the boy the confidence to eat candy for the rest of his life.

“I know, I won’t eat it every day.” The child smiled sweetly.

Eunuch Hong, who had been observing with a smile, said when he heard this: “Rest assured, My Lord. This servant will keep a close eye on His Majesty.”

Bai Lihong quickly nodded: “Yes, Hong-gonggong will hold me accountable.”

“Then this lord can rest assured.” Qin Xiao stood up and patted Hong Fu on the shoulder.

Hong Fu and Bai Lihong left Yaotai Residence first, intending to walk a little farther so that the child could digest his food and take a nap when they returned to Yangxin Hall.

Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao didn’t go out, but instead went to the pavilion in the courtyard.

It had been raining the past few days, and the surroundings were damp. The rush pith that Chu Jiubian had ordered the servants to dry was not drying properly, so the tinderboxes he wanted to make had not been completed.

But today, all of the materials were finally ready.

Chu Jiubian had bought the method for making tinderboxes from the System and mastered it with ease.

The materials had been processed almost completely. The most important part, the “wick,” had been pre-soaked in a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and other substances. All that was left now was the simple assembly.

Xiao Jinzi took some kindling and placed it on the table, then stepped back to stand with the others and watch Chu Jiubian’s technique from a distance.

Qin Xiao sat opposite Chu Jiubian and watched the young man’s slender fingers move deftly, rolling the already unrecognizable rush into a strip and then wrapping it in oilpaper.

Then, he grasped a bamboo tube about the thickness of a thumb and slowly placed the oilpaper-wrapped rush into the tube.

Qin Xiao’s gaze moved downward, from the other’s slightly pink fingertips to the protruding bones of his wrist.

As if on purpose, Chu Jiubian didn’t allow him a glimpse of the scarred underside of his wrist.

Qin Xiao raised his eyes again to meet Chu Jiubian’s seemingly amused gaze.

“Are you looking for this?” Surprisingly, Chu Jiubian openly displayed his wrist.

Qin Xiao was taken aback, and when he looked down, he saw the messy, crisscrossing old scars.

One layered overtop the next, there were at least five or six of them.

And looking at the trajectory of the cuts, it even seemed like…..

Qin Xiao frowned slightly.

Chu Jiubian had inflicted these injuries on himself.

Chu Jiubian flipped his wrist back over and used the bamboo tube filled with rush pith to collect some fire from the charcoal brazier beside him.

Once it was lit, he put a lid on the bamboo tube.

“The path to godhood is never smooth sailing.” Chu Jiubian looked up at Qin Xiao, his expression nonchalant. “One must die before they have a chance to become a god.”

Qin Xiao gave him a deep look, but didn’t reply. Instead, he looked down at the bamboo tube in the other’s hand and asked: “What is this called?”

“A tinderbox.”

“What is it used for?”

Chu Jiubian removed the cap from the bamboo tube and raised it to his lips: “Blow on it.”

Qin Xiao raised an eyebrow and blew into the bamboo tube.

Then, he saw a fire flare up inside it.

He was startled.

Xiao Xiangzi and the others on the sidelines were so shocked that they were unable to close their mouths. If Qin Xiao hadn’t been there, they would have definitely crowded around Chu Jiubian and made a big commotion, asking how it worked.

But presently, they all stood there wide-eyed and dared not say a word.

Chu Jiubian put the lid back on and handed the tinderbox to Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao took it. He expected it to be hot due to the fire contained inside, but it wasn’t.

He opened the lid to find faint, flickering flames in the middle of the tube. He blew on them, and flames suddenly flared.

This thing could actually preserve fire!

Qin Xiao’s heart began to race. This feeling was similar to when he first saw the blocks of ice.

He tried twice more, and each time, the tinderbox lit up easily and promptly.

Compared to using a flint to start a fire, this tinderbox was clearly more convenient.

Indeed, it was another good thing.

“How long can the fire be preserved?” He looked at Chu Jiubian with a deep gaze.

If it could be preserved for a longer period of time, its uses could be vast. The palace servants standing nearby were taken aback.

Ah?

Could this tinderbox work indefinitely?

Chu Jiubian knew Qin Xiao was intelligent, so he wasn’t surprised that he would ask such a crucial question. He replied: “From the first lighting, it will last about three hours at minimum. If stored without being ignited, it will last for a month without any problems.”

Their product was made with high-quality materials, and after ignition, it could actually last five to six hours, or even longer.

It would actually be better to use sweet potato vines, but Great Ning didn’t have sweet potatoes yet.

However, the usefulness of a tinderbox was calculated from the first time it was lit by an external object.

If it wasn’t ignited, it could be stored for a month or even several months without any problems.

In other words, if a person carried two tinderboxes and ignited the other before the first one went out, they could keep the fire burning for over ten hours.

The tinderbox was so portable that you could easily carry eight to ten of them while traveling.

In situations like field warfare and burning down enemy camps, this thing could serve a purpose far exceeding its intrinsic value.

The flickering firelight reflected in Qin Xiao’s eyes.

A few breaths later, he closed the lid and turned his head to look at Xiao Xiangzi and the others. Xiao Xiangzi immediately stepped forward to take the tinderbox.

“Have you learned how to make it?” Qin Xiao asked.

“Answering My Lord, this servant has.”

“Go and have some people make more. There is no need to light them.”

The tinderbox was consumed once it was lit, so the safest and most appropriate way to preserve them was to keep them unlit.

“You may all leave,” Qin Xiao said.

“Yes.” Xiao Xiangzi immediately led the palace servants away from the main courtyard.

Once they were out of sight, the group couldn’t wait any longer and urged Xiao Xiangzi to light the tinderbox.

Upon opening the lid, the tinder was indeed extinguished.

Xiao Xiangzi blew a nervous breath, and a flame instantly appeared.

“Good heavens! It actually caught fire!”

“This tinderbox truly lives up to its reputation as a divine artifact, it’s much easier to use than flint!”

“Right, if we all carry these on us from now on, it’ll be much more convenient for us to light lamps for our Young Master when he gets up in the middle of the night.”

“That’s right, our Young Master is the best!”

Xiao Yinzi gave a thumbs up.

“Our Young Master is an immortal, of course he’s amazing.” Xiao Xiangzi raised his chin high. “Alright, let’s hurry up and send a message to tell everyone to prepare materials and make more as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

The crowd dispersed.

Inside the courtyard, only Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao remained.

There were still some leftover materials on the table, so Qin Xiao picked them up and started to create a tinderbox himself.

Chu Jiubian, having nothing else to do, joined him.

It hadn’t rained today, but the sky was a bit overcast, and an intermittent breeze made it cooler than the day before.

“News just came from Nanjiang. Their food supplies are nearly depleted,” Qin Xiao said casually. “And news from Guizhou and Guangxi arrived a couple of days ago. Their granaries are almost empty, and they’ve requested that the court provide them with emergency relief.”

Before he even received any memorials from Guizhou and Guangxi, he had already sent a letter to Wei Yi, the governor-general of Southern Zhili, wherein he instructed him to send some grain to those regions. He also instructed him to send trusted confidants to keep an eye on the situation in order to prevent the prefectural governments from exploiting the common people again and cutting off their livelihoods.

He could temporarily ignore the fiefdoms of the other princes, as they all had some grain reserves. Especially Huguang-wang, whose multitude of granaries could not possibly be empty.

Pingxi-wang was in no hurry to submit a memorial. He would likely only submit his memorial after seeing Huguang-wang submit his own, and also to test Qin Xiao’s attitude toward the different vassal kings.

Qin Xiao wasn’t entirely clear on the situation in Nanjiang, but he surmised that they shared similar thoughts to Pingxi-wang. He could set aside these three vassal kings for the time being.

However, Guizhou and Guangxi were under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Court. If they didn’t take action, the common people of those two places would have no way to survive.

Chu Jiubian gave Qin Xiao a look.

The other party was urging him to find a solution to the drought.

Judging from the current situation, Qin Xiao should have also ordered Northern Zhili to send grain to those two areas in the original novel, but with so many people and refugees there, the grain from Northern Zhili was probably just a drop in the bucket.

Moreover, the journey from Northern Zhili would inevitably pass through the Huguang region, and Huguang-wang Bai Liyue, who constantly bewailed his poverty, would surely try his best to take some grain for himself, which would only make matters worse.

“If I don’t have a method, what do you plan to do next?” Chu Jiubian asked curiously.

Qin Xiao lit the tinderbox he had made and put on the lid.

Then he turned to Chu Jiubian and said leisurely: “How many days has it been since you last saw Qin Lei?”

Chu Jiubian was taken aback.

Only then did he realize that he hadn’t seen Qin Chaoyang in three to four days.

He understood at once, saying: “You sent him to Huguang.”

The Huguang region was also suffering from the disaster. Even without Huguang-wang sending people to spread the news, the common people along the way would definitely have their eyes on the grain convoy with such a large amount of grain entering the territory.

As the number of refugees increased, even with soldiers guarding the grain convoy, trouble was bound to arise.

Qin Chaoyang had gone to Huguang, and he certainly hadn’t gone alone.

Moreover, he hadn’t just gone to meet the delivery team; he must have spread other rumors before the grain arrived, or perhaps directly infiltrated the refugees and set people up as their leaders, then led them to other granaries in various regions of Hubei and Hunan to collect grain.

The granaries in Hubei and Hunan were all full.

If one granary was successfully opened, the refugees would swarm in and break through the other granaries as well.

It was a brilliant plan.

But it required someone like Qin Chaoyang to carry it out.

Qin Xiao didn’t even need to mention the details. He only mentioned that Qin Chaoyang wasn’t here, and Chu Jiubian immediately understood everything.

Qin Xiao chuckled softly as he watched the thoughtful expression on the other’s face: “It seems I also enjoy talking to intelligent people.”

Chu Jiubian raised an eyebrow: “Then congratulations. The person you like talking to stands over the entire Imperial Court.”

“…..I don’t like it anymore,” Qin Xiao said.

Chu Jiubian just smiled.

He paused for a moment before continuing: “After all this turmoil, the people of Huguang will likely have suffered considerable losses.”

Qin Xiao looked him directly in the eye and asked: “So, Young Master, can these people be saved?”

“There should be new information coming from Nanjiang soon.” Chu Jiubian’s gaze didn’t waver.

Qin Xiao’s eyes flickered slightly: “Then I will await the good news.”

---

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Chapter 32 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 34

The news that the Marshal’s only son had been poisoned spread throughout the country, and everyone bore witness to the military’s swift, decisive action.

In just two days, the military blockaded two different locations in the name of their investigation. Even the Public Security Bureau didn’t dare intervene in the military’s overstepping of authority, only hoping to avoid being affected by Lei Cheng’s wrath.

Gradually, attentive media outlets noticed that all of the blockaded areas were connected to the Prime Minister, and a new round of speculation started from the grassroots media. Various versions of these speculations ran rampant.

Faced with overwhelming public opinion, official media did not report on, clarify, or refute the rumors, but instead seemed to tacitly approve of everyone’s speculations.

Due to the Ling Yi incident, Lu Hulun was already at the center of a hurricane of public outrage, and many people took the opportunity to anonymously report him.

Under Lei Cheng’s orders, regardless of whether the reports were true or false, all of the people who were reported and had connections to the Prime Minister were to be detained pending trial.

Under such a series of blows, Lu Hulun was ultimately unable to refrain from taking action.

You Lin reported to Tang De, who then reported to Oser, that the court was planning to destroy evidence, including some of the evidence in Ling Yi’s case.

When Ling Yi heard that Oser was planning to raid the court, he insisted on going with him. Oser thought that he was concerned about his own case, and acquiesced.

This was destined to be an unusual day. Oser’s guards took control of the court, and all staff were forced to remain at their workstations. The guards piled all of the suspicious documents they collected in one place and waited to take them away after the search was complete.

Chief Justice Bisi was handcuffed to a chair for interrogation. The person whom he had personally sentenced to death was right in front of him, but he was unable to recognize him. He only knew that the beauty brought by His Highness Oser was staring at him with a cold smile that made his hair stand on end.

“Would you please stop staring at me and smiling?” the Chief Justice pleaded humbly. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to wet my pants.”

He wasn’t even lying. He had been cuffed for over two hours, and his bladder was protesting his morning coffee.

Ling Yi gave a few sinister chuckles and even started to whistle.

The Chief Justice: “……”

The whistling cut off abruptly, and Ling Yi frowned.

“What is it?” Oser asked.

Ling Yi was like a child who had made a mistake “…..I need to go to the restroom.”

Oser shook his derisively. It didn’t seem to surprise him that Ling Yi would act this way.

“Turn left when you go out. Don’t go the wrong way.”

Ling Yi scurried off with a high degree of urinary urgency.

The Chief Justice observed this: “Your Highness Oser, I, I…..”

“What?”

“I need to pee too…..”

“Hold it.”

“……”

After a long wait, Ling Yi still hadn’t returned.

Oser was about to send someone to check on him when the Chief Justice spoke up again restlessly: “Your Highness—”

“Didn’t I tell you to hold it? Why are you asking again?”

“That’s not it.” He scrunched his nose. “Why do I smell smoke inside the building?”

Oser took a couple of sniffs. It seemed he wasn’t making things up.

At that moment, the fire alarm blared deafeningly, further confirming his statement.

“Ling Yi!” Oser rushed out of the Chief Justice’s office and received a faceful of smoke. 

He waved his hand, and the smoke dispersed slightly. Not far away, a figure was running toward him.

“Your Highness!” Ling Yi looked panicked. “There’s a fire in the building!”

Oser grabbed his wrist and rushed out, ordering Tang De: “Notify the fire department and evacuate everyone!”

Fortunately, the fire wasn’t large, and everyone only inhaled a little bit of smoke during evacuation.

After most people were safely evacuated, the fire intensified, and thick smoke billowed from the windows on the second floor.

Ling Yi’s gaze flitted over the people around him and he asked: “Where is Captain Tang De?”

Speak of the devil, and he would arrive. Tang De half-carried, half-dragged You Lin through the main gate. You Lin tried to rush back in as soon as his feet touched the ground, but Tang De restrained him with an arm tight around his waist.

“There’s a fire, you can’t go inside!”

“The evidence! The evidence is still in there!”

“What’s more important, the evidence or your life?” Tang De shouted at him.

“They set a fire to destroy the evidence! I have to go get it!”

“Be quiet!” Oser shouted forcefully as he hurried over.

You Lin was extremely anxious: “Your Highness, the evidence inside is our only chance!”

Oser glanced at the burning courthouse and said: “Tang De, keep an eye on him.”

“Yes!”

“And Ling Yi.”

“Ah?”

Before anyone could react, he left Ling Yi and rushed through the courthouse gate.

Tang De was horrified, and was about to follow when he spotted someone running faster than him. A quarter of his soul was frightened out of him by Oser’s actions, and the remaining three fourths were lost when he turned his head. 

“Your Highness Ling Yi! His Highness Oser told me to keep an eye on you. You can’t go in!”

Ling Yi was visibly anxious: “His Highness is in danger!”

“It’s enough for him to be in danger by himself, you can’t risk yourself again!”

Tang De tried to stand in front of him, but then another person rushed past him – You Lin.

If there was a darkest hour in Tang De’s life, this must be it.

“Hold him down!” The experienced captain of the guard couldn’t do all of the work himself.

Guards rushed over and asked: “Which one?”

Tang De pointed at You Lin: “That one, of course!”

The guards transformed into rugby players, ruthlessly pinning You Lin down.

“You two go after His Highness. Make sure he’s safe, no matter what!”

The guards obeyed his order and rushed toward the fire without looking back.

Ling Yi was the only one left, and was still looking for an opportunity. Tang De could use neither violence nor persuasion, and itched to kowtow to him.

“I beg of you to wait for His Highness to come out. If he finds out that I couldn’t stop you, my life will be in your hands.”

“But His Highness—”

“His Highness is blessed with good fortune, nothing will happen to him. Besides, the firefighters will be here soon – there they are!”

Firetrucks arrived on the scene with lights flashing. Fully armed and equipped with professional firefighting tools, the firefighters skillfully entered the scene of the fire through several entrances.

The fire was extremely fierce at this time, and there were flames burning behind nearly every window.

The fire chief evacuated the crowd: “Back off! Everyone back away!”

Ling Yi grabbed onto him like a life-saving straw: “His Highness Oser is still inside, you have to save him!”

“We will rescue anyone who’s inside. Unrelated personnel should step back and not interfere with the rescue work!”

Ling Yi paused, then unexpectedly pushed him away and ran inside.

“Hey!” The fire chief didn’t react in time to stop him. Immediately afterwards, someone else passed by him.

Tang De followed without hesitation when he saw Ling Yi push the fire chief aside. Just as he was about to sprint over and tackle him, he suddenly saw two hazy figures appear at the main gate, backlit by the firelight.

He finally understood why Ling Yi was suddenly so agitated. Changing his target, he went to meet them: “Your Highness!”

Oser was holding a person who appeared to be unconscious. Ling Yi and Tang De escorted them out together, and two guards soon followed.

When they reached a safe area, Oser threw the man onto the lawn in disgust. Only then did everyone see that the person who had passed out from smoke inhalation was the Chief Justice who’d been handcuffed to a chair.

Ling Yi’s worry instantly transformed into anger: “The fire is so dangerous. Is this kind of person really worth risking your life to save?”

“Who said I wanted to save him? If he hadn’t begged me to save his life, I wouldn’t have bothered to pay him any attention.”

Oser glanced regretfully at the burning courthouse: “It’s a pity that the evidence couldn’t be salvaged.”

Ling Yi’s entire body trembled, perhaps due to fear, or perhaps due to excessive worry. This kind of complex mood was unable to be hidden.

Tang De had recovered half his soul, and couldn’t wait to describe Ling Yi’s reaction to Oser.

“Your Highness, did you see how Ling Yi rushed in to find you just now? I did everything I could to stop him. To be honest, I’ve never had to try so hard even to stop an assassin.”

Although he was exaggerating the matter, Ling Yi didn’t refute it. He seemed to be lingering in the aftermath of his fear.

Oser was moved, and wrapped one of his arms around the man.

“You were worried about me?”

Ling Yi stood there in a daze for a moment, then wrapped an arm around Oser in return.

Although he remained silent, his trembling hands revealed what he was feeling.

Tang De thought to himself that this was some kind of world-famous painting, and secretly took out his cell phone for a photo.

You Lin stared at the burning fire, his face awash with resentment. And when he caught a glimpse of what Tang De was doing, he became even more furious.

“Taking photos while the courthouse is on fire, how leisurely and tasteful!”

Tang De, having just experienced extreme stress, was particularly relaxed at this moment.

“Brother, what’s the point of being upset when the evidence is already gone?”

He showed the photo to You Lin: “See? The light and shadow is purely natural, without any special effects. This is the most beautiful love that can be recorded by the human lens.”

You Lin turned his head away in a temper.

The firefighters put out the fire. The good news was that only a few people had minor injuries, but the bad news was that all of the evidence had been burned.

When rescuing the Chief Justice, Oser had dismantled the chair with his bare hands. His left hand was the most seriously injured, with blisters forming where they had been burned.

Luo Li picked the blisters one by one and applied medicine. The treatment process looked painful, but Oser’s expression didn’t change.

When he was done with the complicated part, Luo Li handed the cotton swabs and ointment to Ling Yi, who had been watching from the side.

“Applying the medicine isn’t difficult. How about you give it a try?”

As Ling Yi took them hesitantly, Luo Li leaned in close to his ear and said: “Caring for the sick and injured is the best way to foster a relationship.”

He considerately left after saying this, creating the ideal environment for the two of them.

Ling Yi applied the medicine to Oser, being very careful not to hurt him.

“The repair fluid used on me was really effective. How about you use it, Your Highness?”

“You need to soak your whole body in that stuff. Why make a big deal out of a small injury?”

“How is a burn like this not a big deal? What’s even more infuriating is that you got this burn saving a scumbag,” Ling Yi griped.

Oser saw his worry and rubbed his head with the other hand: “Everyone says I’m fine. Why are you still so upset?”

“Why do you want You Lin to proceed with the investigation?” Ling Yi asked.

“If we can find evidence of self-defense, we can change your verdict to not guilty. Don’t you want your verdict overturned?”

“What’s the point?”

“Even with a pardon, you’ll still have a criminal record on your file.”

“So what? Does the consort still need to take his résumé and apply for jobs?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why should I care whether or not I have a criminal record? Killing is not a stain on me – it’s the medal I wear, an honor I earned with my own strength. Why should it be erased from my life résumé?”

Ling Yi gingerly lifted Oser’s hand: “I don’t care whether or not I’m found innocent or have a criminal record. I just hope Your Highness won’t take any more risks for me in the future.”

The sincerity in his eyes touched Oser. It was completely unexpected that Ling Yi would worry so much about him. He had always thought that Ling Yi was in this for business rather than affection, but now, it seemed that wasn’t the case. 

Oser, who remained perpetually unaffected whether he was doing good or bad things, felt guilty for the first time when facing Ling Yi.

Tang De was also touched by Ling Yi’s performance, but compared to his immediate boss, he was visibly more anxious than relieved.

Lan Ze had come to the lounge for some water, and met Tang De there smoking a cigarette.

Tang De took the initiative to show his goodwill: “Doctor Lan Ze, would you like one?”

“I don’t smoke.”

“These don’t have nicotine. They’re harmless.”

“The nature of them is to enhance pheromones to stimulate the secretion of dopamine in the substantia nigra cells of the brain. If you wish, I can help you implant a needle in the ventral tegmentum area of your brain, and as long as electricity is continuously applied, the same effect can be achieved.”

“……” Tang De awkwardly put out his cigarette and decided to put this man on the list of people he should never offend.

He watched Lan Ze pour a glass of distilled water and sit down to drink it.

“Does Doctor Lan Ze not drink coffee for the same reason?”

“Pretty much.”

Tang De simply couldn’t control his desire to complain: “But why are you so ritualistic about drinking water that you have to come all the way to the lounge to drink it?”

“I separate my work and rest areas so that my brain produces different amounts of cortisol in different environments.”

“……” Tang De nodded. “Meticulous. Truly meticulous.”

Lan Ze ingested a moderate amount of dihydrogen monoxide.

“People typically stimulate dopamine for two reasons: one is to elevate happiness, and the other is to relieve worries. Captain Tang De seems to fit the latter category.”

Tang De really needed someone to listen to him, and didn’t care if that person was Lan Ze.

“The story goes like this: His Highness risked his life to run into the fire and rescue the evidence, and His Highness Ling Yi is deeply moved because he believes that His Highness did so to clear his name.”

“What is the truth?”

“The truth…..of course, it was mainly for the purpose of overturning his verdict, which serves the subsequent purpose of revoking the pardon. His Highness Ling Yi is currently unaware of the other consequence of overturning his verdict.”

“I understand. You’re worried that Ling Yi won’t be so moved when he finds out that His Highness entered the fire to protect his throne.”

Tang De nervously leaned closer: “Do you think he will?”

Lan Ze took another unhurried drink of water: “How would I know? I’ve dissected over a hundred, but I still can’t understand what goes on in people’s hearts.”

“Don’t people use their brains to think?”

“I’ve dissected many more brains, hundreds of them, and I’ve also implanted tools such as steel needles and electromagnetic plates in different areas of living people’s brains. Unfortunately, research on changes in brain activity corresponding to different thoughts has made limited progress so far, as volunteers often withdraw from the experiments due to excessive pain.”

Tang De: “……”

Lan Ze turned his head and said: “My lab is still recruiting volunteers.”

Tang De silently put more space between him and Lan Ze.

Ling Yi finished applying the medicine, and when he went out, someone was waiting for him in the shadows of the corridor.

“Come with me,” You Lin said, and went into a rarely-used room next door.

Ling Yi didn’t look surprised at the man’s appearance. He followed him into the room and closed the door behind him.

“You’ve probably guessed why I came to see you.”

There was no emotion on You Lin’s face, but years of studying law had given him a fierce, oppressive aura when questioning someone. 

“I’ll get straight to the point. Why did you set the fire?”

---

T/N: I lowkey want a Lan Ze romantic comedy spinoff. I can’t even imagine the weird shit he would come up with to try to woo someone.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here.

Chapter 35 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 37

The phoenix deposited Situ Zhaoling on the ground. Looking around, all she could see were sacks of grain. Even the place where the jade table had been was filled up.

Swallowing hard, she managed with great effort to tear her gaze away from the bags and toward the High Priest’s ethereal figure hidden in the mist.

“This believer greets the High Priest.” She bowed, her voice trembling somewhat with excitement.

Chu Jiubian gave a slight nod and got right to the point: “I know what you need. This rice is given to you to alleviate your hardship.”

“This believer kneels on behalf of the common people of Nanjiang and thanks the High Priest for his great favor!”

Situ Zhaoling knelt abruptly and kowtowed several times.

The mist, like a pair of hands, flowed over and helped her up.

The clear, cool voice of a young man echoed faintly: “You are upright and of virtuous character; I wish to take you under my wing. Are you willing?”

“I’m willing!” Situ Zhaoling was overjoyed, and replied without hesitation: “This believer is willing to serve you with utmost loyalty!”

“In that case, you shall now refer to yourself as my subordinate.”

“This subordinate obeys.”

This child had good judgment.

Chu Jiubian was quite satisfied. His tone softened as he said: “I will also bestow upon you this blueprint.”

He had originally intended to buy agricultural reference books, but after careful calculation, he found that buying individual blueprints was more cost-effective. Most of the tool blueprints in the reference books were not needed, as tractors and harvesters were impossible to build here even if someone tried.

So for now, he bought one blueprint for a regular waterwheel and another one for a dragonbone waterwheel.

Situations varied across the Nanjiang region, so both of these methods would likely be useful.

When Jiang Shuoye had formally become his Believer, he had given him the method for steelmaking. Now that Situ Zhaoling had officially joined the group, he naturally couldn’t show favoritism. This tool diagram could be considered a small gift for her; he would give her more good things later.

Situ Zhaoling took the two blueprints floating in front of her and, at a glance, thought of the blueprint her younger brother had shown her before.

Was the High Priest instructing her younger brother too?!

She was delighted, and remembered that her brother could hear her speak about the High Priest. Could it be that the High Priest had also noticed him?

“Thank you very much for the gift, High Priest.” She first expressed her sincere gratitude, then hesitated for a moment before saying: “High Priest, there is something I would like to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“I wanted to tell my family about meeting you, but the words wouldn’t come out. However, I was able to tell my younger brother, Situ Zhaoyao. Is it okay that I did so?”

If the High Priest didn’t want anyone to know about his identity, then she wouldn’t speak of it again.

“It is fine. You may tell your immediate family about the matter of the Divine Realm. But for now, do not reveal my existence to others.”

The High Priest’s name had just spread across the Northern Desert, and the people in the capital were still wary of him. But if news spread through Nanjiang at the same time, these people would not just be wary – they would be terrified.

Most people, when gripped by fear, might choose to behave themselves and stay within their bounds, avoiding contact with such a terrifying thing. But the powerful and wealthy may not.

If they were afraid of something, they would unite like never before, wanting to nip the source of that fear in the bud.

Qin Xiao might also side with them at that point, which would place Chu Jiubian in danger.

Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao were currently allies, but if his power grew stronger and stronger, to the point that he could overthrow the Imperial throne at any time, the cooperative relationship between the two of them would likely fall apart.

Chu Jiubian had already demonstrated his sharp edges and was in a delicate balance with the others in court, so it was best to keep a low profile for now.

Furthermore, he wasn’t in urgent need of Faith Points right now, so he could wait to harvest points in Nanjiang until he needed them later.

“This subordinate understands,” Situ Zhaoling replied. Then she looked at the grain all over the ground and asked: “How should this subordinate get this grain out of here?”

The trading function Chu Jiubian had bought with 30 points would finally come in handy.

He said: “Place your hand on it, and you can bring it out.”

Since Chu Jiubian had bought this batch of grain in bulk from the System Store, it was considered one whole, and there was no need to carry it out bag by bag.

“Yes.” Situ Zhaoling walked up to a bulging grain sack and stretched out her hand.

In the next moment, she was completely enveloped in clouds of mist.

When she opened her eyes again, she had left the Divine Realm and returned to the granary.

The High Priest’s last words still lingered in her mind: if they ran out of food, she could ask him for more.

Situ Zhaoling was exhilarated, and quickly stood up to look around.

The granary, which had been empty just moments before, was now overflowing. Sacks of grain were stacked atop one another, filling the enormous granary with practically no gaps.

She ran to the nearest grain sack and pulled out her hairpin, which she used to cut open the sack. Glistening grains of rice immediately spilled out, and she quickly reached out to catch them.

It was real!

The High Priest really did send her so much food!

The granary was already piled high, but the amount before her seemed to be much less than what she’d seen in the Divine Realm.

Had the rest of the grain been sent elsewhere?

Situ Zhaoling hastened out the door to the second granary.

She paused for a moment, then pushed open the door.

Indeed, this one was full too!

S-so much food, ah!

Situ Zhaoling jumped up and down a few times in excitement, then randomly went to two more granaries, both of which were full. All twenty granaries were full!

This much grain was enough to feed the common people of Nanjiang for another six or seven days.

After news spread that the Main Stronghold had received more grain, those grain merchants, fearing that they wouldn’t be able to sell their stock, would definitely begin to lower their prices. At that point, the crisis in Nanjiang would be completely solved.

Of course, it didn’t matter if those merchants went elsewhere to sell for profit.

Nanjiang had the High Priest as its backer.

But Situ Zhaoling didn’t want to trouble the High Priest again unless absolutely necessary. The people of Nanjiang should put in more effort to address the issues here themselves.

She was unaware that her elders had already found a solution to their predicament, so her thoughts naturally wandered.

She was so excited about the great news that she couldn’t wait to tell her family. Ignoring the sweat coating her body, she ran back toward the first granary.

If her brother called their grandmother and the others over, they would definitely come here first.

Sure enough, when she caught sight of the granary in the distance, she saw Situ Zhaoyao leading their grandmother and parents inside.

Situ Zhaoling’s grin widened as she hurried over.

Inside the granary, the four people stared incredulously at the bags of grain that reached all the way up to the roof and almost thought they were hallucinating.

Situ Zhaoyao attempted to touch each and every one of them, repeatedly exclaiming: “Grain! It’s all grain!”

The three adults weren’t exactly calm either, and all went to touch the sacks of grain with their own hands.

Situ Anli took a few grains of rice from a sack and put them in her mouth, her eyes radiant: “This rice is of much higher quality than what we grow ourselves. The flavor is much stronger too.”

“It’s true.” Bai Lihao nodded. “Even in Jiangnan, which is known for its fish and rice, it’s not certain that such high-quality rice could be grown.”

Situ Zhaoyao exclaimed in amazement: “Did A-jie find all of this? She’s amazing!”

Just then, Situ Zhaoling walked in from outside, and everyone’s attention turned to her.

“Ling’er.” Situ Yu extended her hand.

Situ Zhaoling’s eyes curved: “Grandmother.”

She immediately went over and took her grandmother’s hand. Lacking the authoritative air she exuded in front of outsiders, Situ Yu smiled and gently dabbed the sweat off her granddaughter’s face with a handkerchief: “Look how fast you ran! Your face is all red.”

“I’m fine.” Situ Zhaoling giggled and gestured to the grain, asking: “Grandmother, do you like the big gift Ling’er has given to you?”

“I like it very much!” Situ Yu asked in puzzlement: “But Ling’er, where did all of this food come from?”

Situ Zhaoling glanced outside the granary and called loudly to the guards there: “All of you move away, and don’t allow anyone near the granary.”

“Yes.” Upon receiving the order, the guards immediately marched several dozen meters away and kept a wary eye on the surroundings.

There were only the five family members in the granary, which complied with the High Priest’s order to only reveal the truth to her immediate family.

Only then did Situ Zhaoling say: “You may not believe me when I tell you this, but all of this food was given to me by a god.”

“A god?” Realization swept over Situ Zhaoyao. “A-jie, is the god you’re talking about that High Priest?”

“That’s right.”

“So you really did receive divine assistance! A-jie, you’re amazing!” Situ Zhaoyao recalled how his sister had asked him to pray to the High Priest with her.

Seeing that the siblings seemed to be familiar with this deity, Bai Lihao subconsciously glanced at his wife and mother-in-law. But although their expressions revealed joy and awe, there was no trace of surprise.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

The position of “Saintess” in Nanjiang had been passed down in the Situ family not only because of the family’s power, but also because the women in their family possessed some extraordinary abilities.

He had witnessed such miraculous abilities several times.

For example, during his second year in Nanjiang, the region had experienced a scorching heat wave which lasted for nearly a month without rain, and the blazing sun had dried up much of the paddy fields.

Thus, the young Saintess had presided over her first rain-summoning ceremony.

At that time, Bai Lihao didn’t truly believe in such things. And even if he did, he only had faith in Daoist priests and the monks in the temples and monasteries.

Even Daoist priests and monks had to pay a price to glimpse the secrets of heaven, and were still mortals at heart.

As for “rain-summoning,” he had only read about it in ancient texts from a previous dynasty, which said that a clan of female shamans had helped the dynasty pray for rain.

But he’d always felt that the emperor had claimed that the rain was sent from the gods in order to embellish it as his own achievement.

This being the case, he still felt a sense of awe when he witnessed the ceremony in Nanjiang.

Then, he witnessed Situ Anli actually manage to summon rain.

She was like a goddess, her face painted with totems as she sang an ancient song, her dancing strange and beautiful. Amidst the rising incense smoke and the soft chanting of the Nanjiang people, the blazing sun was gradually obscured by dark clouds, and soon after, the quenching rain began to fall.

Lasting for three entire days, the rainstorm saved the entire region of Nanjiang.

Since then, Bai Lihao had developed a new understanding and respect for the title of Nanjiang’s “Saintess.”

Once they confessed their feelings to each other, the previous Saintess Situ Yu divined their fate and announced that their destiny together was predetermined, which resulted in their marriage.

After their marriage, Bai Lihao gradually separated the image of his wife, Situ Anli, from the title of “Nanjiang’s Saintess.” In his view, the two were entirely different people.

Now that Nanjiang was experiencing a drought unheard of in a hundred years, Situ Anli did not feel compelled to pray for rain.

He had inquired about it, but she just sighed and told him that the drought in Nanjiang was due to a problem with the fortune of the Great Ning Dynasty. She also said that it wasn’t just Nanjiang that was suffering; the entire territory of Great Ning was about to be thrown into turmoil.

She wasn’t wrong. In the following two weeks, he received a steady stream of letters from the capital, and almost none of them relayed good news.

And after that, Emperor Yingzong and his empress passed away. Bai Lihao thought that the Great Ning Dynasty would really fall into chaos at that point, but Situ Anli’s anxious, melancholy expression changed to one of anticipation.

She held two rain-summoning ceremonies in succession, saying that a “Sacred Star” would soon descend upon the Great Ning Dynasty. This Sacred Star would be capable of influencing the fate of Great Ning, though whether it would perish or prosper was uncertain. 

But Nanjiang was different, and was closely-bound to that Sacred Star. No matter what turbulence the Great Ning Dynasty fell into, Nanjiang would be able to stand firm by relying on that Sacred Star.

Judging by his wife’s expression, Bai Lihao guessed that the “High Priest” his daughter had mentioned was probably this Sacred Star.

He had indeed come to rescue Nanjiang.

“High Priest,” Situ Yu murmured. “Good, good.”

She walked out of the granary while leaning on her cane, then slowly knelt down facing the northeast.

Situ Zhaoling supported her, and Situ Anli and Situ Zhaoyao also followed along behind.

Bai Lihao smiled and went to kneel down with his family.

Although the guards around them didn’t know what was going on, they knelt as well.

“Many thanks to the immortal for his generous assistance. My Situ family is willing to worship the immortal for generations to come and ensure the continuation of our ancestral worship.” Although Situ Yu’s voice wasn’t loud, it was firm and resolute.

The family of five then kowtowed three times in unison toward the northeast.

Watching this scene on the screen, Chu Jiubian let out a soft chuckle.

This family had accepted things rather quickly, unlike the people in the capital who had too many thoughts and calculations running through their minds.

But he was still just an ordinary human being, so he had decided to skip the incense offerings and such, and just speak to Situ Zhaoling again in the future.

Chu Jiubian turned off the screen and checked his points.

He had purchased a large amount of grain, giving half of it to Situ Zhaoling and storing the other half in the System Warehouse.

Fortunately, the Warehouse was sized by square meter, and each time he placed something inside, it was added to a corresponding two-dimensional grid. Otherwise, there likely wouldn’t have been enough room for all of the grain.

It had to be said that aside from the fact that the System loved to deduct points, it really took good care of its host in every other way.

He really had gotten a large amount of points from the Northern Desert – he’d already used 300 of them, and still had 100 left.

And he was only 100 points away from being able to recruit another Believer.

He glanced at the Divine Realm section, which showed that he had two chances to draw a card.

Now that the matter in Nanjiang had been resolved, once news spread that the Main Stronghold possessed this batch of grain, the local grain merchants would surely consider lowering their prices.

But according to recent reports, grain prices in Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangzi, and Hubei had more than tripled.

Merchants were driven by profit, and some of them didn’t know when to stop.

Therefore, many grain merchants in Nanjiang would likely travel to these regions where prices were high.

And once these grain merchants joined in, the local grain prices were bound to ease.

The grain merchants in Nanjiang had already experienced a situation where the Main Stronghold suddenly released grain, and didn’t know whether local governments in other places would operate in the same fashion.

In this situation, if the local governments announced that they had grain in hand, these Najiang merchants would inevitably panic.

To avoid losses, they would definitely lower prices further.

And once grain prices started to fall, they would continue to fall.

Chu Jiubian checked the weather forecast. Heavy rain would begin in the north on July 12th, and this rain would spread to the south, where light rain would begin on the 15th.

This light rain would last for almost half a month, at which time the ground would be soaked. Wild vegetables and mushrooms would grow, dried-up rivers and lakes would be filled, and the drought in the south would be over.

Chu Jiubian had initially worried that floods would be more common than droughts.

Because in the original work, it had been flooding that caused the most disastrous consequences, while the droughts weren’t mentioned much. This suggested that even without Chu Jiubian’s intervention, these drought-ridden areas would have had their problem solved eventually.

But with his intervention, at least the Main Stronghold and the Royal Palace wouldn’t be forced to spend half their fortune to buy grain at double the price.

With the grain provided by Chu Jiubian, plus the grain voluntarily handed over by the village chieftains, there would be more than enough.

Chu Jiubian mentally reviewed the entire matter to ensure that there were no oversights.

In that case, he would tell Qin Xiao about the solution to the drought this afternoon.

He would have him wait a few days until the grain merchants in Jiangnan had gone elsewhere, then send messages to the local vassal kings and government offices, instructing them to distribute more porridge and grain to create the appearance of abundant food, thereby lowering grain prices.

The reduced-price grain would be affordable for the common people, and even those who still couldn’t afford it would receive porridge from the government and be able to make it through.

With Chu Jiubian putting the solution out into the open, how the local officials and vassal kings chose to handle it was their own business.

Even if they mishandled things or something went wrong, the blame wouldn’t fall on Qin Xiao or the Imperial Court.

Pingxi-wang and Huguang-wang, for the sake of their reputations and to better govern their fiefdoms, were unlikely to cause any trouble.

As for Guizhou and Guangxi, although they were under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Court, the two magistrates hailed from the Xiao family and Lu family respectively.

During this drought, three vassal kings had requested grain from the government, but the memorials from these two places had arrived late, presumably to delay disaster relief efforts and cause even greater harm.

They wanted to use this drought to smear Bai Lihong’s reign as illegitimate, as well as to condemn Qin Xiao as a treacherous minister who brought disaster down on the country.

But if Qin Xiao had already told them the solution and something else happened in the area, it would be because they, the officials in charge, had harmed the common people under their jurisdiction through their own incompetence.

If that happened, then Qin Xiao certainly wouldn’t be lenient; he would simply dismiss them and replace them with his own people.

If Pingxi-wang and Huguang-wang didn’t handle things correctly and still caused serious harm, then Qin Xiao could spread word that the princes were incompetent and immoral, and stir up discontent among the common people of the fiefdoms against their vassal kings. Then, if they waited for the right opportunity, the Imperial Court might be able to reclaim the fiefdoms without bloodshed.

Give them a taste of their own medicine and see how they respond.

Chu Jiubian’s lips curved.

He was doing Qin Xiao a huge favor again, and the debt owed was not insignificant.

When they formed their business deal, Chu Jiubian hadn’t said he wanted Qin Xiao to do anything for him, but after this matter was over, Qin Xiao would definitely agree to whatever he asked.

It was a done deal that Chu Jiubian would be given the authority to oversee the Imperial Examinations.

Chu Jiubian was in a good mood, and figured his luck should be good too.

So he called to the System: “I’ll draw a card.”

[Okay. The card pool has been updated for Host. Please extract keywords.]

Chu Jiubian looked at the floating cards and randomly selected two of them.

He had two chances. In order to avoid drawing duplicate cards, he might as well draw two at once. 

But if these two happened to be ‘Armed Forces’ and ‘Wealth,’ repeating the keywords of the previous two, then he would really be in trouble.

The System probably hadn’t expected him to draw two cards at once. It froze for a few seconds before withdrawing the remaining four cards, but said nothing about Chu Jiubian violating any rules.

Chu Jiubian felt that he might have just exploited a loophole in the System.

If the System were to work with a new host, it would likely fix this vulnerability and put a penalty in place such as deducting points for drawing multiple cards at once.

Chu Jiubian snickered.

The keywords on the two cards before him were gradually revealed: [Wealth] and [Charisma].

Sure enough, there was a duplicate.

He stowed away the Wealth card and kept only Charisma.

As for Wealth, he could just take it out and use it when he needed it; it was like saving his progress.

Chu Jiubian examined the remaining Charisma card.

Did “charisma” mean that it would be someone good-looking?

Or that they would have a good personality and be popular?

Or perhaps they would be able to command a large following?

[Suitable Believer cards have been selected for Host. Please select a card to summon them.]

The keyword cards had vanished, and were now replaced by four new cards.

Chu Jiubian had a bad feeling about this. After quickly scanning the four cards, he was speechless.

Wonderful, three out of the four cards were familiar faces.

He grabbed the card floating on the far right and thought to himself, As expected, it’s you again.

The card held only a few lines of text: [Ning-wang Qin Xiao, age 25. Charisma rating: 99 (one point deducted out of fear he will become conceited). Everyone who meets him finds his charisma unforgettable. (Not recommended!)]

This System must be malfunctioning – it kept picking out the same person but rejecting him each time.

However, this description was not incorrect. Who could forget someone like Qin Xiao after meeting him?

He was powerful, intelligent, handsome, and had a great physique.

Strangely, Chu Jiubian recalled the feeling of his pectoral muscles again.

Wait. 

This wasn’t right.

Chu Jiubian was really beginning to wonder if he was a pervert.

Constantly obsessing over someone’s pectoral muscles was really abnormal, ah.

But he had worked with many male actors before, many of whom had bigger pectoral muscles than Qin Xiao, yet he hadn’t been interested in any of them. Why was this time different?

[Host, are you certain you want to draw this card? This System does not recommend this option.]

Chu Jiubian: “Nope.” How close were he and Qin Xiao?

If he dared to bring this person in now, he would surely recognize him.

The Divine Realm was his biggest secret right now, and must never be known to anyone outside of his Believers unless absolutely necessary.

Because of this, the other two people he was familiar with couldn’t be chosen either. The risk was too great.

He glanced at the two cards on the left – An Wuji and Hong Fu.

[An Wuji, Commander of the Imperial Guard, age 26. Charisma rating: 90. This handsome, wealthy, and single commander is the dream husband of countless young men and women.]

[Hong Fu, Grand Eunuch to the Emperor, age 30. Charisma rating: 95. He is skilled in both civil and martial matters, capable of fighting on the battlefield and raising children gently at home. Able to compose poetry and manage thousands of palace servants, such a powerful eunuch is the ideal man in the hearts of countless palace women.]

Chu Jiubian had known that Hong Fu was very capable.

In the original novel, this Eunuch Hong was Bai Lihong’s most capable assistant from beginning to end. He could do anything, was particularly capable of knowing the emperor’s mind, and was absolutely loyal to Bai Lihong.

His role was pretty much the same as all-around secretary Qin Chaoyang.

Why would someone like that enter the palace and become a eunuch? And why was he so loyal to Bai Lihong?

Chu Jiubian didn’t investigate further; he would figure it out eventually.

These two, like Qin Xiao, were familiar with him and very intelligent, so he wouldn’t consider them for now; he could reconsider later if needed.

He shifted his gaze to the third card, the only one he could draw.

[Wang Qichen, young master of the Wang family, age 23. With a charisma rating of 100, no one could resist him even if they wanted to. He is none other than the most dissolute playboy and handsome face in the capital, Young Master Jiyue. Additional attribute: known in public opinion to represent the moon and justice. (Recommended!!)]

Represent the moon and justice?

Chu Jiubian’s expression went strange for a moment, then he hurriedly erased that dreamlike image from his mind.

“Wang Qichen,” he murmured, recalling that he had met the man briefly at the auction that day.

The other’s long, loose hair and rambling remarks made him completely different from those scions of noble families who were praised today — and even more so from the Wang family, which placed emphasis on etiquette to an extreme degree.

He was already twenty-three, and couldn’t really be called rebellious. He just liked to be free.

Chu Jiubian understood his charisma rating of 100, as he was indeed very beautiful.

But did that public opinion group refer to the great scholars and officials of the Wang family?

But the Wang family should currently be controlled by that pretentious Wang Huanzhi. Wang Qichen was a dandy with no real power, only the title of “young master,” and was not on good terms with his father, Wang Huanzhi.

In this situation, how could those great scholars and officials of the Wang family be considered an additional attribute?

The System’s information was always accurate, so the distribution of power within the Wang family may not be as it appeared on the surface.

And this young master of the Wang family may not be the good-for-nothing dandy he appeared to be.

Chu Jiubian was completely unfamiliar with Wang Qichen, and didn’t know what he might want or what his personality was like.

It seemed he should learn more about him first. It would be unwise to rashly bring him into the Divine Realm now.

He didn’t want to repeat the mistake he’d made the first time, just casually bringing Jiang Shuoye in, only to find that the other party didn’t trust him at all.

He wanted to ensure that his Believers would quickly develop trust and reverence for him.

[Host, someone has been detected entering your bedroom. Would you like to leave the Divine Realm?]

Chu Jiubian’s gaze sharpened: “Yes.”

After emerging from the Divine Realm, he didn’t open his eyes immediately.

Yaotai Residence was so safe that only his own people could get into his bedroom, so it was either Xiao Xiangzi, one of his fellow servants, or…..”

“Jiujiu, is Xiansheng okay?” The child spoke quietly, but the concern in his voice was evident.

Qin Xiao stood by the screen, arms folded as he gazed at the young man lying properly on the bed.

Who slept so perfectly still?

It looked less like he was asleep and more like he was in a coma.

There was a tug on his sleeve.

He lowered his eyes to find the boy looking up at him with a frown: “Jiujiu, should we call an Imperial Physician?”

Chu Jiubian actually wanted to pretend to wake up when he heard this. He had acted out this scenario many times before, and was certain that nobody would notice any abnormalities.

But then he heard the man whisper: “I’ll take a look at him.”

Subsequently, he heard the man’s footsteps approaching the bed.

Chu Jiubian’s mind raced, and a wicked thought occurred to him. Come here.

Let’s see how Lord Ning-wang looked when he was frightened.

The footsteps stopped beside his bed. Chu Jiubian’s breathing was steady, and his eyelashes didn’t even flutter. He appeared to be fast asleep.

“Chu Jiubian?”

A deep, pleasant voice rang out, but the person on the bed didn’t stir.

Qin Xiao leaned down slightly and nudged the young man’s shoulder: “Wake up.”

There was still no response.

The child came to the bedside. Seeing the situation, he asked anxiously: “Jiujiu, what’s wrong with Xiansheng—”

Before he could finish speaking, he saw his uncle reach out and pinch Xiansheng’s nose.

Oh?!

The child’s eyes widened in astonishment.

What was he doing?

Chu Jiubian’s breathing cut off, and he cursed inwardly as his eyelashes trembled slightly.

A hint of a smile flashed through Qin Xiao’s eyes.

But in the next moment, this smile was replaced by surprise. His dark pupils reflected the young man’s handsome visage and the undisguised sly malice in the other’s eyes.

Qin Xiao slowly looked down and saw the other’s well-defined hands covering his chest.

And then those hands squeezed.

---

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Chapter 31 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 33

Chapter 60 – “But I like it~”

Lu Chengye held the Burning Sky Bow in one hand and the bell in the other, hurriedly chasing after the group of people as they moved onward.

He was running out of time.

Cao Zirui and his group were obviously heading toward the exit, where there must be a lot of people gathered. Once they arrived, there would be so many people around that he would have no chance to do anything.

This was Lu Chengye’s last chance to intercept and kill them before they reached the exit.

He didn’t know what Cao Zirui and the others were doing, but their speed suddenly slowed down. And with Lu Chengye rushing faster and faster, the distance between them dwindled.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound amongst the trees.

Lu Chengye paused, regarding the dense bushes in front of him with some caution.

The bushes shook a little, as if there was something behind them.

It’s probably some kind of monster, Lu Chengye thought. He didn’t want to waste his energy, so he changed direction and prepared to take a detour.

However, just as he took a step, the rustling sound came closer.

Lu Chengye dithered there for a moment before finally stomping his foot. He turned his head impatiently and glared at the bushes that were shaking more and more violently.

He had no choice. The noise was obviously coming toward him. A monster must have discovered him, and he couldn’t escape it.

He raised his right hand, holding the bow forward slightly. This action revealed his arm, which had been covered beneath his sleeve. His previously white skin was now covered in strange patterns inked with cinnabar.

The undried cinnabar flowed along his arm like blood or tears, eerie and terrifying.

As he raised his hand, his left hand also nocked an arrow on the Burning Sky Bow. After losing the golden arrow, he should have been unable to draw the magic bow even a little bit. But oddly, his left hand on the bowstring pulled it backward slightly.

The divine bow had no string and no place for an arrow, but he went through the motion of drawing the bow and nocking the arrow.

But the bow was not fully drawn – only halfway.

Lu Chengye held his breath and stared at the shaking bushes, waiting for the monster to rear its head so that he could kill it in one blow. He had much to do, and no time to waste here.

He was prepared to strike, but when he saw what was revealed between the bushes, he didn’t take action immediately.

That was a pair of hands. A pair of human hands.

The owner of those hands pushed aside the obstructing foliage and emerged from the jungle.

When he raised his head and saw Lu Chengye with a look of astonishment on his face, he couldn’t help but smile.

Although this smile contained no mockery or sarcasm, Lu Chengye over-interpreted that look and assumed that Feng Ye was provoking him.

The rage gushing from within him snapped him back to his senses, and he asked harshly: “It’s you?”

Feng Ye shrugged and asked: “Who else?”

Lu Chengye narrowed his eyes. Although his blood pressure had soared when he saw Feng Ye, aside from his anger, he felt that something wasn’t right. It seemed like Feng Ye had sought him out purposely. Could this be a trap?

He regarded Feng Ye with caution. The other party was unarmed, without even a sword for self-defense, and didn’t seem like someone who was looking for trouble.

The area was very quiet, with only the sound of birds flapping their wings. It didn’t seem like an ambush. Could he be here to die?

Although this guess was unlikely, he couldn’t think of any other reason for Feng Ye to leave the main group and seek him out alone.

Unable to make sense of it, he just asked directly: “Did you come here to die?”

“Hehe.” Feng Ye chuckled upon hearing this, his expression one of helpless amusement. He crossed his arms and leaned casually against the more than ten-meter-high tree beside him.

The majority of his weight was on one foot, while the other leisurely tapped the ground with his toes. It was a very relaxed posture, full of openings. If his opponent wanted to attack, he could do so from any angle, and Feng Ye would be unable to dodge.

Of course, he dared to stand before Lu Chengye like this not out of trust, but out of simple contempt.

At this thought, the fire in Lu Chengye’s heart instantly shot up dozens of meters.

On what basis! How dare a loser like Feng Ye at the third level of Qi Refining look down on him again and again!

His eyes blew open wide in fury, his appearance so savage that he seemed liable to pounce on him and tear flesh from bone in the next moment.

But Feng Ye seemed unaware of Lu Chengye’s vicious expression, maintaining his relaxed attitude. Instead of answering directly, he asked: “First, you poisoned your fellow disciples, causing their cultivation to drop significantly. Then you ruthlessly hunted down Fang Yang and Cao Zirui, leaving them no way out. Am I accusing you unjustly?”

Wasn’t this obvious? He had already admitted it in front of Fang Yang, and wasn’t afraid to admit it again now. A hint of ridicule appeared on his lips: “You’re not. You’re just missing one thing.”

“Not only do I intend to kill them both, I also intend to kill someone else. And that person is…..” The smile on Lu Chengye’s lips widened further. He pointed at Feng Ye in front of him, gritting his teeth as he shouted the last word: “You!”

Feng Ye couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head: “I fear that will be somewhat difficult.”

“Hmph!” Lu Chengye gave a heavy scoff. He didn’t take Feng Ye’s words to heart at all. So what if he lost to this person last time?

Setting aside the element of luck during the competition, the situation was different now. What he held in his hands was a heaven-grade magic weapon!

Generally speaking, it was impossible for him, at the seventh level of Qi Refining, to draw the Burning Sky Bow without the aid of another magical instrument. But…..if he used a forbidden technique, that might not be the case.

Since it was a forbidden technique, he would have to pay a huge price, but it would also afford him spiritual power beyond his usual level. This was the last trump card Xue Ren had given him.

Since all of his previous killing moves had failed, it was time to use his last resort.

However, the cost of this forbidden technique was extraordinarily high, requiring the loss of half his cultivation. He had shown no mercy when he destroyed Fang Yang’s cultivation, but was hesitant when it came to his own, and was only willing to use it as a last resort.

He was cruel only to others, and never to himself.

Even now, he couldn’t bear to do it – but he had been forced into a corner. If he didn’t eliminate these people, he was doomed. Compared to death, losing half his cultivation was clearly the better option.

Holding the wooden bow in front of him, he raised his chin and introduced it to him as if lecturing a country bumpkin: “You don’t understand what you’re dealing with. Do you know what this bow is?”

“What is it?” Feng Ye observed the bow engraved with a dark red totem for a moment. He really didn’t know where it had originated. Its power far exceeded that of an ordinary magic weapon, and the flames were vaguely familiar, so he responded cooperatively.

“Alright, I’ll let you die with the knowledge!” Donning an arrogant, condescending look, Lu Chengye repeated exactly what Xue Ren had told him that day: “A hundred years ago, Yinglong cut down the Jianmu tree in the Eastern Sea. The giant tree collapsed and fire rained from the sky to the ground, spreading for three thousand li and burning for three days.”

“Before the heavenly fire was extinguished, someone used it as a catalyst and combined it with thousand-year-old locust wood. Several extremely cold yin substances, such as the Snowy Mountain Ice Soul, suppressed the incinerating heavenly fire and sealed it within a bow, forging this indestructible heavenly weapon.”

Before Lu Chengye could speak the name of the heavenly weapon, Feng Ye suddenly cut in: “Someone used the heavenly fire as a catalyst? Who was it?”

When he heard Lu Chengye’s description of the heavenly bow, his prior nonchalant appearance turned a bit more serious. He speculated with a frown: “Wood for the body of the bow and fire for the weapon’s soul. Even thousand-year locust wood wouldn’t be able to overcome the advantage fire has over wood. Why was locust wood chosen for the body? What kind of cold, yin substance is able to overcome heavenly fire?”

He remained lost in doubt, muttering to himself as he disregarded Lu Chengye to the side.

His contempt and disregard completely destroyed Lu Chengye’s already precarious sanity. He went on to shout the name he had been interrupted in the middle of earlier: “This is the heaven-grade magic weapon — Burning Sky Bow!”

“Feng Ye, go to hell!” He roared out these five words. His face reddened and his neck bulged, not from the strength and volume of his shout, but because he had drawn the bow completely while speaking to Feng Ye.

The crescent resembled a full moon! 

He spared no effort in his fury, determined to leave Feng Ye without a complete body!

As he drew the bow to its full potential, a crimson arrow suddenly appeared on the empty bowstring. The blazing flames, compressed hundreds of times over, condensed inside the small arrow and burst out.

There was a brief vacuum in the surrounding spiritual energy. Because Lu Chengye didn’t possess enough spiritual power for the Burning Sky Bow to absorb, this magic weapon spontaneously sourced the remainder from the air.

As his words fell, a crimson arrow several times more powerful than the golden arrow exploded out.

At such a short distance, it arrived in front of Feng Ye in the blink of an eye.

Feng Ye didn’t even look directly at Lu Chengye. Deep in doubt and confusion, he had his head lowered toward the ground, and he only looked up when he heard Lu Chengye’s shout.

Firelight illuminated his pupils, and the gust of wind caused by the whistling arrow flung up his bangs and the hem of his clothes.

He didn’t dodge. There was no time.

But even so, he felt no fear.

After releasing the arrow, the smile of victory at having avenged his great hatred had not fully appeared when Lu Chengye’s face distorted in fear at the incredible scene in front of him.

Faced with the crimson arrow aimed straight at his head, Feng Ye took no action. He simply reached up slightly and grasped the arrow in his fragile mortal palm.

The violent flames should have instantly reduced his hand and arm to ashes, but the reality was…..

The untamable flames became obedient in his hand, the fire dancing in his palm without burning it at all.

His hand holding the arrow exerted a small bit of force, and the crimson arrow formed by sucking all of the spiritual power from Lu Chengye turned into pieces of residual flames in his hand, scattering to then extinguish in the air.

“This…..this is impossible! Impossible!” Lu Chengye was horrified. Unable to speak clearly, he stammered while looking at Feng Ye like he was a monster.

And this monster was walking toward him! Lu Chengye couldn’t help but back away a few steps.

When Feng Ye stepped forward, he stepped back.

The ultimate attack he had launched with all his strength had been crushed by Feng Ye with such ease! This could no longer be explained by luck.

Feng Ye was clearly just a junior disciple at the third level of Qi Refining. How could he possibly do this!

No…..Lu Chengye’s panic-stricken mind suddenly became clear, and he asked repeatedly: “Who are you? Who are you?!”

He stared at this familiar yet unfamiliar disciple. The familiarity lay in his ordinary face, while the unfamiliarity lay with the person beneath that skin.

At last, he realized that Feng Ye was definitely not the original owner of this body. This guy was simply an imposter with ulterior motives!

In his ignorance, he had accidentally offended such a great god. Lu Chengye felt both fear and regret, but it was too late for regret now. The usual geniality on Feng Ye’s face was nowhere to be seen at this moment.

In a trance, Lu Chengye felt as if he was back in the ring on that day, with Feng Ye holding a sword to his throat. He’d looked exactly like this.

Colder than cold iron.

All emotion had faded from his eyes. There was no pity or sympathy, nothing at all. Looking into his eyes was like looking directly at a sword poised to take his head, with a killing intent just as strong.

“Who am I?” Feng Ye repeated mildly. Then, in the same calm tone, he said: “I’m the one who’s going to kill you.”

He wants to kill me! These five words reverberated in Lu Chengye’s mind. His steps trembled slightly in terror, and before he knew it, he was collapsing to the ground.

He didn’t even have the opportunity to stand back up. He simply sat on the ground, propped himself up with his hands, and proceeded to scoot away with a complete lack of dignity.

He knew that Feng Ye wasn’t all talk. This person…..this person was really going to kill him!

He rolled over and crawled, and Feng Ye continued to walk forward as usual, approaching him step by step.

When he saw Feng Ye step in front of him, Lu Chengye knew there was no escape. 

He simply prostrated himself in front of Feng Ye, tears streaming down his face as he said: “I just got momentarily carried away, please let me go…..let me go this time, and I’ll never mess with you again!”

Speaking so pitifully with a face full of undignified tears, he didn’t seem to be faking it at all.

He naturally wasn’t pretending, but these tears had nothing to do with repentance. This is simply the fear of dying, thought the crow watching from a branch.

He observed Lu Chengye with jet-black eyes, and then Feng Ye, who was standing there motionlessly.

He’d made a bet with himself on whether Feng Ye would let Lu Chengye go.

Hao Chen was leaning toward letting him go, because from all of the actions he’d taken since he’d met him, Feng Ye was actually a very soft-hearted person. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone so far as to allow Hao Chen to sleep on his shoulder all night.

However, the completely different expression on Feng Ye’s face at this moment made him hesitate. Because it was cold – so cold that even his thick feathers were unable to block it out. The crow couldn’t help but hug his wings to himself tightly, curling into a ball as he craned his neck to watch the show.

“Who gave you orders?” Feng Ye looked down at Lu Chengye, his face still cold and expressionless.

This question lifted Lu Chengye’s heart. Instead of acting against him directly, Feng Ye had asked him a question. This sounded like he was easing off, but after the relief came bitterness. He couldn’t speak on this issue at all. 

So he could only cautiously lift his head and stammer: “I….I can’t say…..”

“Xue Ren?” Feng Ye asked again.

Lu Chengye still couldn’t say anything, nor could he shake his head or nod. The vow didn’t allow for any loopholes.

But the excitement in his eyes still revealed the answer.

“I understand.” Feng Ye lifted his head and looked away, leaving Lu Chengye behind to walk a few steps forward.

It looked as if Feng Ye was going to let him go.

Both Lu Chengye and the crow on the branch thought so.

But after walking three meters, Feng Ye suddenly stopped.

He turned around and said to Lu Chengye: “Poisoning and trying to kill fellow disciples is a third-degree crime.”

What third-degree crime? Lu Chengye looked up from the ground in astonishment and saw Feng Ye raise five fingers. 

Those thin lips parted slightly: “Die.”

Wind blew through the jungle, branches swaying up and down with a rustling sound. The crow who was curled up into a fat little ball swayed with the branches.

The last thing Lu Chengye saw was Feng Ye’s cold expression, which hadn’t changed from beginning to end. Then the world spun around him. His line of sight suddenly flew very high, and then very low. After rolling across the ground a few times, he could no longer feel anything.

Soon after his head rolled, the kneeling body collapsed as well. A column of blood several meters high spurted out from the severed neck, and the pungent smell of blood carried on the wind.

The crow couldn’t help but raise his wings, pretending to cover his eyes. He commented solemnly from his perch: “So ruthless.”

Through the gaps in his feathers, dark eyes peered down at the corpse lying below, then at Feng Ye, who stood there without a trace of blood on his body. His tone abruptly turned joyful: “But I like it~”

---

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Chapter 59 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 61

Nanjiang was densely-populated, and with limited land. It possessed three main cities, each managed separately by the three largest strongholds.

The largest city in terms of area and population was the central city, where the royal palace and the Main Stronghold were located. The other two were the northern city, which was under the jurisdiction of the Beiyuan Stronghold, and the southern city, which was under the Nanting Stronghold.

The Beiyuan and Nanting strongholds were of roughly the same size and population, and had always tacitly acknowledged the “leader” status of the Main Stronghold, which made the decisions on all matters of importance.

Moreover, the leaders of both the northern and southern strongholds in this generation were women. The two were childhood friends of Situ Yu, the Main Stronghold chieftain, who was also the maternal grandmother of the Situ siblings.

Over the decades of their rule, Nanjiang had experienced unprecedented stability and harmony.

It was only that due to their history and population composition, there were still hundreds of villages of various sizes below these three major cities, each managed by its own minor chieftain.

The village chieftains were mostly the heads of major families that had been in power for generations. In the eyes of ordinary villagers, the power and status of these village chieftains was even greater than those of the three major cities, or even the royal palace or the Imperial Court.

Some villagers had been oppressed for generations, and had forgotten how to resist.

In order to live better lives, some blindly flattered and defended these village chieftains and their families, giving them absolute power. This resulted in vastly different living conditions depending on the village.

A good village chieftain would always consider the needs of the villagers, and the entire village would rally together.

If a chieftain was worse, they would exploit the villagers year after year. But due to their abundance of power, the villagers dared not resist and even had to treat them with great respect.

To put it bluntly, the entire Nanjiang region was essentially a smaller version of Great Ning.

But whereas Great Ning had vassal kings controlling different regions, the local powers near the southern border consisted of chieftains of various villages.

But back to the point.

The Nanjiang granaries were located in the three major cities: twenty in the central city and ten each in the northern and southern cities.

Ten days ago, people all over had basically finished eating their stored grain, so the chieftains of each village had sent able-bodied men to the cities to request more grain.

The granaries in the three cities were opened simultaneously, and the grain was distributed according to the populations of the villages.

When the need arose, each village naturally began to distribute porridge.

The specific situation was unclear, but all three major cities had begun distributing porridge eight days ago, and the number of porridge stalls had gradually increased from the initial two per city to dozens.

However, the area surrounding the central city was directly under the jurisdiction of the Main Stronghold, and its population was much larger than that of the others.

With refugees arriving from other villages, the city’s food supply was consumed at an alarming rate once all of these people gathered in the central city.

Now, the porridge served at the porridge stalls was getting thinner by the day, while the number of people gathering outside of the city was increasing at the same rate.

Even with guards on watch day and night, there were still many minor skirmishes.

It was nearly noon, and the blazing sun was making everyone irritable and restless.

Dozens of porridge stalls at the gates had already commenced cooking.

But because there wasn’t enough rice, today’s porridge was even thinner than yesterday’s.

The common people had lined up in front of the porridge stalls in long queues early that morning, and they all had a listless look about them. Some even carried baskets full of withered wild vegetables.

The prolonged drought had killed most of the wild grass and vegetables.

But people were still able to pick some – in the face of true starvation, eating a bite or two to pad their bellies was better than nothing.

Refugees sat dispiritedly on the scorching ground, not daring to take shelter under the shade of the wall, lest the spot they had finally managed to secure be taken by someone else.

Everyone knew that the city was likely running out of food, so they had all adopted the mindset of “one meal at a time.”

The faint aroma of rice porridge stimulated their tastebuds and set their stomachs to rumbling.

But it wasn’t time yet, so they could only endure the hunger and heat as they waited.

A servant from the Royal Palace stood inside a porridge stall, sleeves rolled up. He fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan, but the sweltering heat still made him sweat profusely.

Sweat trickled into his eyes, and he raised his hand to wipe it away.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps rushed toward him, accompanied by a woman’s heavy breathing.

The servant immediately opened his eyes to see a woman staggering over with a small baby. Her gait was unsteady, and her pale lips clearly indicated her weakness.

She rushed to the porridge stall, picked up the bronze ladle next to the pot without saying a word, and poured a scoop of porridge directly into her mouth.

“What are you doing!” The servant was alarmed, and quickly tried to grab it back.

Drinking scalding-hot porridge like this would definitely scald her throat.

The ladle was snatched away from the woman, and half of the porridge on the utensil spilled onto the ground.

She collapsed to her knees, clutching her child as she broke down in tears. Her lips and chin were red from the boiling porridge, and blisters would likely form soon.

The commotion was so loud that it was noticed by everyone.

The refugees closest to the porridge stall paled slightly when they saw the half-portion of porridge spilled on the ground.

Perfectly good food had been wasted!

What a terrible thing, ah!

“What is the meaning of this?” the servant asked, gripping the ladle tightly for fear of it being snatched again.

The servants in the other porridge stalls also became more cautious, keeping their eyes focused on the nearby refugees.

The woman held her child and sobbed her heart out, her voice hoarse and agonizing.

Like a helpless kitten.

The baby in her arms also let out faint cries. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” the woman apologized again and again. “It’s all my fault that I can’t feed you properly.”

The woman was emaciated, as if she had not just been starving for a few days, but had never even eaten a full meal.

With her condition, the baby naturally wouldn’t have any milk to drink.

Many refugees felt sorry for her, and some even wanted to give her the wild vegetables they’d picked, but were stopped by their families.

In times such as these, nobody had the ability to take care of others.

The fact that the refugees were still at leisure to sympathize with others was because the food had yet to run out completely.

If a few more days passed and there was truly nothing left to eat, people would be capable of resorting to all sorts of ugly behavior, and wouldn’t have the capacity to sympathize with others.

Seeing how pitiful the woman and child were, the servant couldn’t help but feel a surge of compassion, and picked up a bowl of thick porridge to give her.

Tears streamed down the woman’s face as she stared at the porridge offered to her. Holding her child, she struggled to lower herself and kowtow to the servant.

The servant stopped her and handed her the bowl instead.

After accepting it, the woman took two mouthfuls for herself, and then blew on the next mouthful to cool it before feeding it to her child.

She wouldn’t be able to produce milk immediately, so she could only feed her baby rice porridge.

As for whether the baby would survive, that was up to fate.

A man at the back of the queue craned his neck to watch the whole thing. Seeing how the woman was able to receive such a thick bowl of porridge, he skewed his eyes, turned around, and pulled his five-year-old son over.

The family’s financial situation hadn’t been so bad before, so the child was well-raised, dark-skinned, strong, and resilient.

But in order to save rations, they had been eating less and less over the past month, and the child had become thin. His lips were also a little chapped.

The man crouched down and whispered a few words into the child’s ear.

The child’s eyes gleamed with intelligence. After hearing his father’s words, he immediately slumped down as if he had fainted.

“My son!” the man called out in anguish, “Dad is useless. Wake up, you can’t leave Dad all alone!”

His cries were even more pitiful than those of the woman before.

Everyone turned to look, watching as the man picked up his son and rushed to the nearest porridge stall, where he knelt down with a thud.

“Please, Sir, help us! My son and I have come from the north and haven’t eaten for days. Please, just give us a bite to eat!” The man cried so hard that he went hoarse, and was so entrenched in his emotions that he suddenly began to cough.

The servant from the Royal Palace in charge of this porridge stall was given a shock. Seeing that the child was indeed unconscious and seemed to be exhaling more than he was inhaling, he immediately wavered.

Porridge was about to be distributed anyway, so why not just give him a bowl?

“Don’t give it to him!” someone in the crowd shouted. “That guy stole someone else’s porridge yesterday!”

“That’s right! I recognize him too, Sir. You absolutely must not give it to him!”

“If anyone can just go up and ask for porridge, why are we even lining up?”

“Exactly, we might as well just go up and grab some!”

In a flash, the crowd became restless.

The kneeling man wailed and protested: “I didn’t! I only got here today!”

The patrolling guards sensed that something was wrong and rushed over to maintain order, while others went to seek out the princess and young prince.

Just now, more than a dozen village chieftains had come to the city. The Nanjiang-wang, as well as the Stronghold Chieftain and others, were receiving them to discuss important matters.

Therefore, seeking out the prince and princess was the most reasonable choice.

When Situ Zhaoling and her younger brother arrived, they found that the people had completely abandoned the queue and were pushing and shoving, craning their necks and standing on tiptoe with their bowls raised high.

Cries, screams, and curses……it was like a living hell.

The guards tried their best to maintain order, but there were too many refugees. When they managed to quell one side, trouble would break out on the other.

The servant who had originally served the woman porridge was deathly pale, hands trembling as he spooned porridge into the bowls handed to him. He knew that he had brought trouble upon himself, and in his panic, he didn’t notice that the next bowls handed to him had already been filled once.

The refugees would squeeze to the front and hurriedly drink a bowl, then take advantage of the chaos to pass over their empty bowl and receive another helping.

Those unable to squeeze in from behind pushed forward frantically. Some fell, and women and children were squeezed so hard that they couldn’t breathe, but nobody took notice.

“A-jie.” Situ Zhaoyao’s voice trembled. “What should we do?”

Situ Zhaoling’s heart pounded like a drum, chills running down her spine.

This could not be allowed to continue. It must be stopped immediately! They couldn’t wait for their grandmother to come over.

“A-di, did you bring that bullhorn?”

Situ Zhaoyao had previously created something called a “bullhorn.” Shaped like a morning glory, it could make one’s voice louder when spoken into the smaller end.

“It’s on the city wall,” he said.

Situ Zhaoling immediately turned back to the gates and raced up the stone steps all the way to the top of the city wall.

Situ Zhaoyao followed his sister up, then immediately went to the guard station to find the bullhorn.

Bullhorn in hand, Situ Zhaoling immediately ran to the wall and looked down.

The crowd was densely packed, stretching as far as the eye could see.

“Please calm down! Calm down!”

The girl’s powerful voice carried through the bullhorn, and the refugees, servants serving porridge, and guards all looked up at her.

High on the city wall, a boy and a girl dressed in crimson robes stood side by side.

“It’s the princess and the young prince!” someone shouted, and the crowd erupted.

“Everyone, please line up. Rice porridge will be given to everyone. Due to limited manpower, there are only a dozen porridge stalls for now, but there will definitely be enough porridge! Please be understanding!” Situ Zhaoling spoke clearly, ensuring that everyone could hear her.

“This porridge is so thin that it’s like rice water. One bowl each isn’t enough to fill us up!”

“Please, Your Highness, have some compassion and cook more porridge. We’re all going to starve to death if this continues.”

“There are so many grain merchants and so much grain in the city. Please, Your Highness, buy some more out of kindness!”

“That’s right, the Royal Palace and the Main Stronghold are so wealthy. Even if they only let a little bit slip between their fingers, it would be enough to get us through years of famine.”

“Please, Princess, have mercy!”

Refugees spoke up one after another, beseeching her, the Royal Palace, and the Main Stronghold.

Situ Zhaoyao had been somewhat frightened by their reckless charge, but was now enraged by their words. A vein throbbed in his temple.

“What do they mean by this? Haven’t we been indulging them? We’ve never overtaxed nor exploited them, so what money could we possibly have?”

The price of grain in the city had increased several times over by now, reaching outrageous heights.

In such a situation, even selling off the Royal Palace itself wouldn’t yield much grain.

The young man blurted out in a fit of anger: “These ungrateful bastards! We should have collected taxes and grain just like other places do!”

The city walls were very high, and with everyone clamoring for their money, no one could hear what was said.

Situ Zhaoling had never witnessed such a scene before, and was at a loss for how to react.

But at least this farce had been quelled, preventing what could have been even more disastrous consequences.

She had assured everyone that there would definitely be food, but deep down, she wasn’t so certain. 

What if the High Priest didn’t come to meet her?

And the High Priest hadn’t said that he would give her food, just that he would solve her problem…..

Situ Zhaoling’s mind was a mess.

The refugees were starving and wanted to continue receiving porridge, but they also wanted the princess to give them a definite answer so that they could use it to pressure the Royal Palace to spend more money on grain.

The pleas for the princess to intervene grew louder and louder. Situ Zhaoling’s hands trembled.

Situ Zhaoyao also didn’t know what to do, and sent his sister an anxious look.

There had been no news from the Imperial Court, and Pingxi-wang was unable to provide any extra grain.

Currently, the only ones with grain in Nanjiang were the grain merchants, and the only way to ensure that the common people had food was to buy from them.

Situ Zhaoling raised the bullhorn again.

She would agree to purchase more grain, if only to put the people’s hearts at ease.

But if these grain merchants raised their prices again, even if they spent everything they had, how much grain would they be able to buy?

Just as she was hesitating, she suddenly heard the distant roar of a dragon.

Startled, she immediately looked up at the sky.

Under the blazing sun appeared a long golden dragon, carried on a divine wind that cast a fleeting illusion of light.

Her heart pounded faster and harder, and Situ Zhaoling seemed to smell the aroma of plum blossoms, just like she had in the Divine Realm.

The long dragon swam above her head, and the god’s clear, cold voice echoed in her mind: “Go to the granary, and I will enter your dreams to bestow grain upon you.”

The High Priest.

It was the High Priest!

The other party had actually heard her pleas, and had come to her ahead of schedule.

And he even said that he would give her grain. Grain!

Grain that could save Nanjiang from disaster!

“Thank you, High Priest! I will go immediately!” she excitedly assured the dragon. Then she watched as the long dragon swam into the splendorous sunlight and disappeared.

Situ Zhaoyao, standing next to her, had suddenly seen his sister stare up at the sky with a look of fervent joy.

He sensed that something was happening, and was about to call out to her when she opened her mouth and spoke.

High Priest?

Why this title again?

He didn’t understand, but he saw that his sister’s expression no longer contained any hesitation or unease as she solemnly promised those below the city wall: “Rest assured, everyone! The Royal Palace and the Main Stronghold will not lack food!”

Hearing the confidence in her voice, most of the common people were reassured.

Only a small number of them still had doubts, and there were naturally those who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble. However, things hadn’t completely descended into chaos yet, so it wouldn’t be reasonable for them to act rashly; on the contrary, they might be made an example of.

This being the case, everyone calmed down again and got back in line under the guidance of the guards.

Situ Zhaoling handed the bullhorn back to her younger brother and said: “Go and call Grandmother and the others to the granary.”

She then rushed down the city wall and hurried in the direction of the granary.

Situ Zhaoyao was endlessly confused, but he was accustomed to obeying his sister, and only hesitated for a second before running toward the stronghold.

Inside the council hall of the Main Stronghold.

Nanjiang-wang Bai Lihao and Chieftain Situ Yu of the Main Stronghold sat at the head of the table, while Situ Anli sat in a chair next to her mother in one of the other main seats.

Facing them from the other side were a dozen or more chairs and tea tables, which were fully occupied by village chieftains.

The chieftains of the northern and southern cities had not come, nor had the several powerful and influential village chieftains under their jurisdictions. 

It seemed that these minor village chieftains had come here to put pressure on the stronghold chieftain.

This being the case, the two other stronghold chieftains were probably facing a similar situation.

One of the village chieftains said with a bitter expression: “Great Chieftain, you must help our Quanjing Village! Our food supply will only last one more day, and will be depleted tomorrow.”

“It’s the same in our village. Even yesterday’s porridge had almost nothing in it, since most of the rice is gone. The villagers are so hungry that they’ve started to eat tree bark.”

“I would like to buy enough grain to at least get through this crisis, but the price of grain in the city has increased many times over, and we couldn’t afford it even if we tried.”

“That’s right! Great Chieftain, Your Highness, you must help us think of a way.”

The three people at the head of the table didn’t even blink as they listened to the lamentations of these village chieftains.

They already had a plan, which, while not perfect, should be enough to weather this crisis.

Seeing that the others had no reaction, the village chieftains continued to embellish their stories while constantly glancing at the person in the main seat.

Situ Yu was nearly seventy years old. Her silver hair was tied up with an ordinary silver hairpin, and in her left hand, she held a gleaming cane exactly her height, decorated with various colorful ribbons and silver bells.

When she had heard enough of their complaints, she tapped the floor with her cane, and the yammering village chieftains fell silent.

“You’ve come here today simply to ask for money and food, have you?” Situ Yu’s cloudy eyes gazed over the crowd. “I will give you all a definite answer today. Even if my Nanjiang Stronghold must empty its coffers, it will continue to protect the common people.”

The chieftains breathed a collective sigh of relief, but then Situ Yu went on: “But I need you all to put away your little calculations.”

Her gaze suddenly sharpened, sweeping over all of those chieftains in their brocade robes: “I know exactly how much money and grain you hold in your hands.”

“During this famine, you have all been eating until your bellies are round and your faces are shining with oil. But you force your people to beg for food in other villages, and if they’re unable to find any there, then even farther afield.”

The village chieftains, who had just been bemoaning their poverty, subconsciously exchanged glances. Their expressions were a little awkward, and those with large bellies surreptitiously covered them with their sleeves.

Situ Yu scoffed: “You saw those refugees outside the city when you arrived, didn’t you? How many of them are from my stronghold? And how many of them fled from your villages? You all know the answer, don’t you?”

She was aware that not all of these village chieftains cared for their villagers. However, because neither the Main Stronghold nor the Royal Palace had collected much grain tax, these village chieftains did not exploit their villagers, and most of the common people lived quite well.

But now that a disaster year had arrived, these people could no longer hide their greedy natures.

Situ Yu knew their characters well, so when the granaries were opened for distribution earlier, she had instructed the chieftains of Beiyuan Stronghold and Nanting Stronghold to be careful to only give the village chieftains the same amount of food, and nothing extra.

If more was given, more grain would end up in the private coffers of these village chieftains.

The chieftains had enough grain for their own consumption, but they still wanted to take a cut before distributing the disaster relief. Anyone with eyes could see through their intentions.

They intended to wait until the grain in the granaries was completely used up.

At that point, the three strongholds would have no choice but to buy grain from the grain merchants.

And with grain prices remaining high, these village chieftains could make a fortune by reselling their grain.

These people simply wanted to profit from the disaster.

Of course, not all chieftains were like this, but those in the hall today inevitably had these thoughts in mind.

They probably thought that since they had money, power, and large households, why couldn’t they become the Great Chieftain of a stronghold?

When the human heart grew ambitious, it became more selfish as well.

But as long as these people wanted something, Situ Yu could negotiate with them.

She had just pointed out their intentions, which was a show of force to assert her authority.

Now, she softened her voice and said earnestly: “In the face of such a great calamity, our Nanjiang villages must unite as one. I will remember your hard work and contributions. From now on, if there is anything in my Main Stronghold that requires oversight, you will be given priority for the position.”

Nanjiang was essentially a small Imperial Court with its own power structure.

The Situ family had held the positions of Great Chieftain and Saintess since the previous dynasty. One controlled the practicalities, and the other unified their ideology. Combined, they firmly controlled Nanjiang.

Below the Great Chieftain and Saintess were six government offices similar to those of Great Ning, along with numerous official positions.

These officials were all capable people promoted from various villages, and were able to bring more benefits and advantages to their respective hometowns. The more powerful leaders were practically equal to the local stronghold chieftains in terms of position and status.

Situ Yu’s words implied that she intended to use these official positions in the Main Stronghold as bargaining chips.

As for what she got in return…..

“Since the Great Chieftain has broached the subject, I won’t hold back anymore. I still have some surplus grain at home, and I can’t bear to see villagers suffering like this. I’m willing to donate it all,” said the Chieftain of Quanjing village, his voice full of righteous indignation.

With him taking the lead, the other village chieftains immediately followed suit.

But their claim of “donating it all” was obviously not true. At most, they would donate half and sell the other half.

“Then I thank you all in advance. I have already spoken with the grain merchants in the central city,” said Situ Yu. “They are willing to lower their selling prices to twice the previous rate.”

Even twice the previous rate was quite a lot.

Situ Yu naturally hadn’t spoken to those grain merchants – they would have never been so easily persuaded.

But if these village chieftains sold their grain at this lower rate, the grain merchants would have to lower their prices as well despite their reluctance.

And even just double their previous rate would earn them quite a bit of profit.

If those merchants felt that the prices were too low and wanted to sell in other regions instead, they would have to expend manpower and resources, and would also have to consider potential losses. It would be more profitable for them to simply earn twice the money in Nanjiang.

But the village chieftains exchanged glances, dissatisfied with the price.

“Grain prices have now increased fivefold,” one of them said. “There’s no way those grain merchants would lower the price to twice the normal amount, right?”

“I think the same. It should at least be three times the normal amount.”

They all opened their mouths at once, speaking of the “grain merchants” while actually referring to their own selling prices.

These people wanted to earn three times the profit.

Their greed knew no bounds!

Situ Yu stroked her cane, mentally calculating the costs over and over, but no matter how she counted the figures, she still came out at a loss.

“Have any of you heard of that Lord Ning-wang?” Bai Lihao suddenly asked.

Everyone turned to look at him.

The man was in his early thirties, exuding a gentle and refined air as a slight smile played on his handsome face.

“Of course we’ve heard of him.”

“Then do you all know that Lord Ning-wang has 50,000 Qin family soldiers under his command?”

Nanjiang had been conquered by Emperor Wuzong and the Qin Family Army. How could they not know that?

Almost all of them had heard their elders recount the glory of Emperor Wuzong and the Qin Family Army.

But why was Bai Lihai bringing up the Qin Family Army and Qin Xiao?

“That Ning-wang is not an ordinary person who seeks to maintain the status quo.” Bai Lihao didn’t know exactly what Qin Xiao was like, but that didn’t stop him from using his name to intimidate these southern chieftains.

Neither Emperor Chengzong nor Emperor Yingzong had paid much attention to Nanjiang, which was why the people here lived so comfortably.

What they feared most was that someone would come and disrupt their way of life.

When Bai Lihao was first assigned to this region, he was also targeted quite frequently. But luckily, the Great Chieftain’s family knew that he had no say in the matter, and helped him out of trouble many times.

In particular, Saintess Anli had saved him twice.

During the process, the handsome man and beautiful woman, both with similar temperaments, fell deeply in love.

It was only afterward that he was able to gain a firm foothold in the Nanjiang region, and he never took advantage of his position to suppress these village chieftains.

So when these people saw that he didn’t seem to use intimidation or threats, they gradually lowered their guard and continued to live their carefree lives.

Now, Bai Lihao was telling them that their world was changing.

Qin Xiao was indeed not one to maintain the status quo. He held great power and had the Qin Family Army behind him, so it would be easy for him to take control of Nanjiang.

Everyone understood his implied meaning, and their expressions immediately changed.

Bai Lihao didn’t say anything more, but everyone got the picture.

As Nanjiang-wang, Bai Lihao held absolute authority over the region. If Qin Xiao really sent troops to attack, these villages, including the Main Stronghold, would have no grounds to resist. If they tried, they would be labeled traitors.

But Bai Lihao was different. As long as he stood before them as Nanjiang-wang, even Qin Xiao wouldn’t be able to set foot in his territory.

Before, everyone had just regarded him as the Saintess’s husband, and had nearly forgotten his actual identity.

But now, they seemed to have a new understanding of the vassal king before them.

Indeed, how could he be a simple person when he had emerged unscathed from the succession struggle during the reign of Emperor Chengzong?

With the pros and cons laid bare, the group lost all interest in haggling and agreed to “two times the original price.”

A large banquet was not suitable given the current situation, so Situ Yu directly saw the chieftains off.

The food problem was solved, but at the price that they would have to empty most of their coffers to buy half the amount of grain. But to prevent the common people from starving to death, this was the only way.

Just as the three were about to tally up their funds, Situ Zhaoyao rushed in and urged the three of them to go outside, saying as they walked: “A-jie said we have to go to the granary.”

“The granary? Has something happened?” All three were anxious.

“I don’t know, that’s all A-jie said.”

“Then let’s hurry.”

When the three of them arrived at the enormous granary, Situ Zhaoling was already asleep, sitting back against the wall.

Inside the Divine Realm.

Sitting on his throne, Chu Jiubian let out a soft breath.

When he heard the System notification during court, he knew that something must have happened in the Nanjiang region.

Fortunately, the morning court session ended at that time and he rushed back to Yaotai Residence nonstop.

On the way, he first had the System send a message to Situ Zhaoling, then lay down in bed as soon as he got back and immediately entered the Divine Realm.

Although he hadn’t run along the way, he was still a little out of breath – so much so that he instinctively took a deep breath to stabilize himself after entering the Divine Realm.

Upon entering the Divine Realm for the second time, Situ Zhaoling was still startled by the feeling of weightlessness and let out a short scream.

Fortunately, a phoenix flew over in time to catch her, and they passed together through the clouds.

She once again glimpsed the huge, sacred silhouette of the god, along with many rows of stacked grain sacks in the vast white space.

These had all been purchased by Chu Jiubian.

The packaging was also automatically changed by the System to the burlap sacks commonly used in the Great Ning Dynasty.

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Chapter 30 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 32

A silver saddle shines on the white horse, which gallops like a shooting star.

Qiu Heng silently recited this line, and his heart trembled violently.

At the Qiu family auction, Chu Jiubian had recited this line of poetry when competing against Bai Gongjin!

The crowd initially didn’t understand what this ‘silver saddle’ was, and assumed it was just an ornament on a warhorse. But now, it seemed that this ‘saddle’ was actually for the cavalrymen.

But this wasn’t what shocked him the most. What shocked him the most was how Chu Jiubian had gotten involved with the Mobei Army.

Although the Northern Desert also lay within Northern Zhili, it was located in a remote area that would take four to five days’ travel on a fast horse from the capital.

The Qiu family possessed the strongest intelligence network composed of their merchant caravans, with many carrier pigeons and relay stations for delivering messages, which enabled them to receive information more quickly.

Even so, it would take them at least two days to receive news from the Northern Desert.

According to the steward, the Mobei Army had only allowed their cavalry to test the so-called stirrups and saddles two days ago, but Chu Jiubian had recited that line of poetry the night before.

So how had Chu Jiubian gotten in touch with the Mobei Army?

Or was it that Chu Jiubian’s people had already gone to the Northern Desert and gained Jiang Shuoye’s trust by making such equipment for his cavalry?

Did they belong to the force behind Chu Jiubian?

How had the other party managed to contact Jiang Shuoye so quietly, and without anyone noticing?

Or perhaps Chu Jiubian was actually a god?

Chu Jiubian was connected to Jiang Shuoye, but there was no way of knowing what extraordinary means were used to get involved with a stranger thousands of li away…..

Fear and awe in the face of the unknown shattered Qiu Heng’s usual composure.

“Ge?” Qiu Xuanzheng reached out and patted his shoulder.

Qiu Heng looked up at him and then walked out of the courtyard at a rapid pace, leaving behind only the words: “I’m going to find Uncle.”

Their uncle, Qiu Hongkuo, was the most respected elder in the Qiu family. He had been exceptionally talented in his youth, but an accident occurred when he was doing business with the Tatars, which resulted in both of his legs being disabled. He was now unable to walk properly.

If not for the requirement that the family head must have descendants – and Qiu Hongkuo’s injury made it impossible for him to father children – the position of Qiu family head would never have gone to Qiu Heng’s father, Qiu Hongde, who only knew how to indulge in pleasure all day long.

However, Qiu Hongde didn’t serve as the family head for long. After the Qiu brothers came of age, Qiu Hongkuo directly handed over the position of family head to Qiu Xuanzheng.

The more intelligent and capable Qiu Heng was brought under Qiu Hongkuo’s personal tutelage, which gradually raised him to the position of Minister of Justice.

So the Qiu family was represented by the Qiu brothers on the surface, but the one who truly held the reins was their eldest uncle, Qiu Hongkuo.

As for what words Qiu Heng had for the other party, no one knew.

*

*

When Chu Jiubian arrived at the government office, the bloodstains on his body had been cleaned away.

His right palm had been pierced by the handle of a calligraphy brush the day before, and now his right thumb was injured too, so his entire hand was wrapped in white bandages.

He hid his hand beneath a wide sleeve and casually approached the courtyard where his office was located.

Many ministry officials greeted him during this time, saying, “Greetings, My Lord,” but they didn’t dare say anything else.

They were all very curious about what had occurred on Chang’an Street. With Chu Jiubian having come from that direction, asking him would be the most convenient option.

However, due to their statuses and Chu Jiubinan’s aloof and indifferent demeanor, no one dared to strike up a conversation with him.

Wang-langzhong had met him before and knew that he was actually easy to get along with, so he took the initiative to go up and speak with him, naturally bringing up the occurrence on Chang’an Street.

Wang-langzhong assumed that lightning had struck a tree, since there was already precedent for this.

But Chu Jiubian said mildly: “I didn’t see any lightning. The sound must have come from something else.”

“No lightning?” Wang-langzhong asked in surprise.

Before he could inquire further, Chu Jiubian took his leave and headed toward the back courtyard.

Wang-langzhong frowned slightly: “If it wasn’t lightning, what else could it have been?”

Chu Jiubian reached his office and first went to the storeroom to search around, where he finally found a map of Great Ning.

He took the map back to his office, locked the door, and then sat down at his desk.

He took the paper and pens he had previously purchased out of the System Space. Then, referring to the map of Great Ning and the identity records of various local officials, he sorted them out little by little and marked them out on the paper.

Great Ning covered a vast territory, its area and administrative divisions somewhat similar to the “Ming Dynasty” in his previous life.

Regions like Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and the three northeastern provinces were at this time ruled by various Western Region states, as well as the Tatar and Jurchen tribes. The rest of Great Ning’s territory was divided into “two capitals, four provinces, and seven counties.”

Chu Jiubian carefully compared the two.

The “two capitals” referred to the two directly governed regions in the north and south. Northern Zhili encompassed the three regions of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, which were directly governed by the capital and the emperor.

Southern Zhili was the general term for the three regions of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Luzhou, which were under the control of Wei Yi, the governor-general of Zhili.

Wei Yi was Qin Xiao’s cousin from his maternal grandfather’s side, but he was already close to fifty and was old enough to be Qin Xiao’s father.

Chu Jiubian didn’t know the nature of this person’s relationship with Qin Xiao, but they would always be closer to each other than to others.

The four provinces referred to Shandong and Shanxi, which stood on the east and west sides of the Imperial City, as well as Guizhou and Guangxi, which were located in the south.

The remaining seven counties referred to the fiefdoms of the seven vassal kings.

Henan, which bordered Northern Zhili, was governed by Anhui-wang, Bai Liming. When Jiannan-wang went to Hexi Prefecture to build the dams, Bai Liming supported him fully and provided many conveniences.

And Chu Jiubian had also drawn this person as an armed forces card before. He was a young man who had succeeded his late father, and was only eighteen years old.

The other party must be a decent person to be willing to open the door for Jiannan-wang, likely out of concern for the suffering of those in his fiefdom.

Pingxi-wang Bai Lizheng had also been selected, and was in charge of Sichuan.

Apart from them, there was also Huguang-wang, Bai Liyue, who despite his extreme wealth still begged the court for money and grain, and Bai Lihao, Nanjiang-wang and father of the Situ siblings.

Chu Jiubian had some impression of these four vassal kings.

Besides these, there was only Dingbei-wang Bai Liyu, who controlled Shanxi and Gansu, Zuilang-wang Bai Liyan, who controlled Fujian and Zhejiang, and Dongjiang-wang Bai Lihe, who controlled Guangdong and Jiangxi.

Chu Jiubian was unable to determine the exact strengths of these individuals. He would have to find some time to ask Xiao Xiangzi, or directly ask Qin Xiao.

Moreover, he didn’t know their ranking within the Imperial family. He only knew from the character cards that Bai Lizheng was fifth in line for the throne, and Bai Liming’s father had been fourth in line.

The deceased Emperor Yingzong had been the seventh son.

Chu Jiubian swept the tip of his pen across the seven regions one by one. His right thumb bled from writing, and blood dripped down the pen and onto the paper, leaving a trail behind.

He would take it slow. These places would eventually return to the emperor’s hands.

And those places that were not yet included in the territory of Great Ning would gradually be marked with its flag.

*

*

As evening fell, Matron Zhong brought out several new stir-fried dishes that she had spent the afternoon figuring out.

The six full plates included a mix of vegetables and meats, including stir-fries and stews, and each one was a feast for the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Bai Lihong sat in his chair with his short legs swinging, resting his chin on his chubby little hands as he looked at Qin Xiao opposite him.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Qin Xiao asked.

Bai Lihong replied matter-of-factly: “I’m waiting for Xiansheng.”

Qin Xiao raised an eyebrow: “You really like him?”

“I like him!” Bai Lihong’s eyes lit up. “Xiansheng is amazing. He can write poetry, treat illnesses, make ice, and cook. He knows so many things! And he coaxes me to sleep gently just like Mother.”

Qin Xiao noticed that he was still somewhat despondent when he spoke of Qin Feng, but he no longer burst into tears as easily as before.

Had he transferred his longing for his mother onto Chu Jiubian?

Qin Xiao deliberately asked: “Am I not gentle? I also coax you to sleep.”

“It’s different.” Bai Lihong shook his head confidently. “You’re Jiujiu.”

“And Jiujiu can’t be gentle?”

“It’s, it’s…..” Bai Lihong wracked his brains to describe the feeling, but couldn’t come up with a suitable expression. He could only puff his little cheeks out and say, “It’s just different.”

Seeing that Qin Xiao didn’t seem to take his words seriously, he said with some indignation: “Does Jiujiu not like Xiansheng?”

Although Xiansheng didn’t seem to like his uncle very much, he could tell that his uncle definitely liked him. Otherwise, he never would have let Xiansheng get close to him, the emperor.

This wasn’t because Bai Lihong was narcissistic at such a young age, but because he knew that his current status was important. So apart from Qin Chaoyang and An Wuji, whom he had known all his life, and the palace servants who had followed his mother, no one else was able to get close to him, much less sit at the same table as him for a meal.

Therefore, Xiansheng was the first “stranger” he became close to after losing his mother, the significance of which needed no further explanation.

Qin Xiao was rendered speechless by this question.

But when he didn’t answer, the child went on to ask: “Jiujiu, why aren’t you saying anything? You must like Xiansheng too, right?”

The servants in the inner palace kept their eyes down and their minds vacant, while the secret guards dared not utter a sound, but their hearts were erupting.

Help! What did they just hear!

Their Lord liked the Young Master?

So the matter of the love tribulation was indeed true!

Matron Zhong’s words this afternoon about the two of them sharing a pair of chopsticks must be true as well!

If someone were to ask them now if those were just words the young emperor said, they would immediately retort: “Our Lord didn’t say he ‘dislikes’ him, so he naturally must ‘like’ him, ah!”

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat awkward. Fortunately, Chu Jiubian entered the courtyard at that moment, accompanied by Xiao Xiangzi and Eunuch Hong.

Bai Lihong had previously expressed that he wanted to have dinner with Chu Jiubian, and had Eunuch Hong go pick him up.

Therefore, as soon as Chu Jiubian returned to the palace after finishing his shift, he saw the two eunuchs waiting for him at the palace gates. Xiao Xiangzi was grinning from ear to ear, as enthusiastic and lively as ever, while the elder eunuch wore a gentle, kindly expression, as if he possessed no temper at all.

Since the child wanted to eat with him, Chu Jiubian naturally wouldn’t refuse.

“Xiansheng is here.” Bai Lihong immediately slid off his chair and personally went to the palace gates to receive him.

Qin Xiao hadn’t foreseen that the child would grow so close to Chu Jiubian. After all, the other party’s seemingly innate coldness was something that even Qin Chaoyang and An Wuji were somewhat intimidated by, let alone a three-year-old toddler.

But the child was not afraid of Chu Jiubian. In fact, when he met him for the first time at the coronation ceremony, he had exclaimed in delight, “Fairy-gege!”

Outside, Bai Lihong saw Chu Jiubian start to bow, so he rushed over and stood on tiptoe, barely managing to raise his short arms far enough above his head to stop him.

“No need for formality, Xiansheng.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Chu Jiubian readily went along with his wishes.

Bai Lihong tilted his head up and said sweetly: “Xiansheng was busy this afternoon and must be hungry. Let’s go eat.”

Inside, Qin Xiao ladled out two bowls of egg drop soup and placed them in front of Bai Lihong and Chu Jiubian respectively.

Chu Jiubian had exchanged a glance with him after entering the room, which could be considered a greeting.

After sitting down, Bai Lihong noticed the blood seeping from Chu Jiubian’s right thumb and immediately asked with concern: “Is Xiansheng’s hand injured again?”

He had injured his palm previously, but it hadn’t been serious, and had scabbed over pretty much overnight.

But now there was a new injury on his finger.

Chu Jiubian glanced at his finger and said gently: “I accidentally bumped it on something. No need for Your Majesty to worry.”

“Ai,” Bai Lihong said with the concern of a little adult, “Xiansheng should take better care of himself and not get hurt again.”

Injuries hurt a lot. He’d fallen and scraped his knees before, and they hurt for a long time afterward.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty,” Chu Jiubian said with a faint smile.

He didn’t respond to the declaration, because he knew he would continue to get hurt.

Qin Xiao withdrew his gaze from the young man’s bloodstained finger and said nothing.

Bai Lihong took his chopsticks and picked up stir-fried cabbage from a plate.

Of all the dishes served at lunch, he had thought the stir-fried cabbage was the best, so he’d asked Matron Zhong to make it for dinner again.

But after putting it in his mouth, he frowned.

It was tasty, of course, but nowhere near as good as what he had for lunch.

Qin Xiao also picked up a piece of cabbage.

The stir-fried dish was fresh and fragrant, but compared to Chu Jiubian’s, it had a slightly bitter, salty taste.

That was the unique flavor of coarse salt.

When the dish was being made, he had watched Matron Zhong go through all the same steps, but the taste was still far from what he had expected.

His intention was to see if all stir-fried cabbage dishes were that delicious, or if only Chu Jiubian’s was.

Now, it seemed that it wasn’t all in his head. Chu Jiubian must have added other spices to the dish he made, or had perhaps substituted some important seasoning.

Was it salt?

Since the other party could conjure an iron wok out of thin air, it wasn’t impossible that he could also conjure up a different kind of salt and put it in the pot.

Qin Xiao’s gaze was almost tangible. It was impossible for Chu Jiubian to ignore it.

He looked up and met the man’s eyes: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Qin Xiao said with a smile. “I just feel that this dish doesn’t taste as good as the one the Young Master made at noon.”

“I think so too,” Bai Lihong echoed.

His eyes shone with even more admiration as he looked at Chu Jiubian. The immortal Xiansheng was indeed different from mortals.

Chu Jiubian casually made up a story: “It might be because I added some magic power to it.”

Could fine salt and thirteen-spice powder not be considered a ‘magic power?’

“Wow!” The young emperor’s mouth dropped open.

Qin Xiao appeared thoughtful, but he ultimately didn’t pursue the matter further, which could be considered acceptance of Chu Jiubian’s words.

Chu Jiubian lowered his eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips.

It seemed the sudden appearance of the iron wok at noon had given the Regent quite a shock. Otherwise, the Qin Xiao of the past would have taken his words as a joke and exchanged a few words with him about it.

After the meal, Chu Jiubian poured out some cold-prevention medicine for Bai Lihong.

After taking the sweet medicine, the young emperor happily went for a walk outside the palace with Eunuch Hong. The entourage behind him consisted of only six people, far fewer than those following the Empress Dowager.

However, it was unknown how many guards were watching from the shadows.

Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian walked leisurely along the palace path – just the two of them, with no palace servants.

The fiery red sun had half-set on the horizon, layers of clouds fanning out in flame-like hues.

Chu Jiubian took out two anti-inflammatory pills and handed them to Qin Xiao: “Take two more pills and that should be enough.”

He hadn’t seen Qin Xiao’s injuries, but he was a strong, healthy person and should be able to make a quick recovery.

Qin Xiao was indeed almost fully recovered. He didn’t take the pills, saying in a somewhat indolent voice: “I’m fully recovered. You should take the medicine yourself.”

Chu Jiubian was injured, and this anti-–inflammatory medicine relieved pain. Qin Xiao felt that with such delicate skin, the other party needed it more than he did.

“I have plenty.” Chu Jiubian grabbed his hand and placed the medicine in his palm.

The young man’s slightly cool hand contrasted with Qin Xiao’s warm body temperature, resulting in a curious tactile sensation.

Qin Xiao swallowed the pills and turned his head to look at Chu Jiubian.

The young man possessed striking features that exuded a strong sense of detachment. The lingering glow of the setting sun illuminated his handsome face, lending it an ephemeral, sacred air.

Chu Jiubian was admiring the fiery clouds on the horizon, but the man’s gaze seemed to pierce through him.

What was it now?

He turned to see the man’s sharply handsome face, as well as the lingering smile in his eyes.

Chu Jiubian: “ ? ”

“What are you smiling about?”

It said in the original story that when the main villain smiled, someone was bound to suffer.

But Qin Xiao always smiled warmly at him, and he never seemed to suffer any real misfortune.

Oh, wait. That wasn’t quite right.

Hadn’t there been an attempt on his life today?

To send dozens of assassins to kill a defenseless civil official like him, those people were certainly cautious.

“I just remembered something amusing,” said Qin Xiao.

“Like what?”

The two continued to stroll at a leisurely pace, but when their eyes met, they could clearly discern each other’s expressions.

“I heard that the Mobei Army has developed new equipment.” Qin Xiao carefully observed Chu Jiubian’s expression, not missing a single fluctuation.

Chu Jiubian had known that this matter would reach the capital, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

“The Mobei Army?” He seemed to be hearing this name for the first time. “What new equipment?”

Having acted for so many years, this current role was a piece of cake for Chu Jiubian.

“They’re said to be called stirrups and saddles,” Qin Xiao said in a low voice. “Does the Young Master recognize them?”

Chu Jiubian feigned just the right amount of surprise and asked: “Aren’t they equipment for horses? Could it be that they didn’t exist in the mortal world before?”

“Indeed, they did not. They must be things that only exist in the immortal realm,” said Qin Xiao.

“These things have existed in the immortal realm for millennia,” Chu Jiubian said without even blinking. “But it’s not surprising that ordinary people could come up with something so simple.”

Qin Xiao stared at him, but couldn’t discern anything from the natural look on his face.

It was as if he had truly come from the so-called immortal realm and didn’t know anything about the Mobei Army.

 “Do you know Jiang Chifeng?” Qin Xiao suddenly asked.

Chu Jiubian paused: “Is he from the Mobei Army?”

“He is the general of the Mobei Army.”

“And he created the stirrups and saddles?”

When he saw Qin Xiao nod, he said: “Then this person is quite clever.”

“Yes, ah.” Qin Xiao gazed at the sky and said in a low voice: “It’s just that with so many people talking, these new things won’t remain hidden from the eyes of others.”

“Are you one of those people talking?” Chu Jiubian asked with a smile.

Qin Xiao had no one to rely on in the Imperial Court, but in other places, his secret guards and subordinates could exert much more power.

Regarding the matter of the Mobei Army, Qin Xiao was likely the first person in the capital to receive the news.

“Somewhat, but not entirely.” Qin Xiao said meaningfully, “I’m not the only one who has received this news.”

Chu Jiubian lowered his eyes.

Other than Qin Xiao, the only other people in the capital who knew were probably the Qiu family, who had caravans and post stations all across Great Ning.

But in a few days, these elites in the capital would definitely find out.

At that time, their fear and wariness of him would reach a higher level, and no one would dare to act against him casually.

His prediction was correct.

In the days that followed, each household received news from the Northern Desert.

Unlike the vague information Qin Xiao and the Qiu family had initially received, the subsequent messages became more specific and held a greater amount of information.

They had all heard of a new god – the High Priest.

Since receiving his mission from Chu Jiubian, Jiang Shuoye had worked tirelessly in his determination to ensure that all the common people of the Northern Desert knew the “High Priest’s” name.

Because the Mobei Army enjoyed high prestige in the region, the common people believed everything these soldiers said.

“Have you heard? The Mobei Army recently fought a particularly brilliant battle, routing the Tatars and sending them fleeing in terror.”

“Of course I’ve heard. I also heard that it was because the Mobei Army was equipped with those new stirrups and saddles. It’s quite remarkable…..” This person spoke eloquently, praising these two items as if they were unparalleled in heaven and earth.

“My cousin is a blacksmith. He helped make the equipment for the Mobei Army!”

Everyone immediately gathered around.

The man raised his chin, spittle flying as he spoke: “You wouldn’t believe it. My cousin was utterly astonished by these divine objects and immediately asked the general where they had come from. And guess what the general said?”

“What did he say?”

“The general said —” Here, he lowered his voice, “That an immortal gave them to him as gifts in a dream!”

Everyone gasped in astonishment.

“An i-immortal?”

“I heard that too! I overheard a young soldier talking about it at a noodle stall. He said that when the immortal saw that the common people of the Northern Desert were suffering greatly because of the war, he couldn’t bear it and thus bestowed upon us these divine objects, enabling the general to better protect us.”

“Right, right, that’s what I heard too. This High Priest is truly a compassionate immortal.”

“So the immortal is known as the High Priest? He must be a powerful and benevolent deity.”

Such conversations took place throughout the Northern Desert, and within just a few days, nearly everyone knew the name of the “High Priest.”

Some even spontaneously set up simple altars in temples or empty houses, in hopes that the High Priest would continue to protect the common people of the Northern Desert.

Chu Jiubian’s Faith Value soared at a speed visible to the naked eye, and he was almost to the point of being able to summon four Believers.

However, for the fifth Believer, the required points suddenly doubled to 800.

Chu Jiubian had a long debate with the System, and they both eventually took a step back.

Chu Jiubian agreed to wait until he accumulated 800 points for the fifth Believer, in exchange for the System selling him food at wholesale prices.

An agreement was reached, and both sides were happy.

And when news of the High Priest being worshipped by the people of the Northern Desert reached the capital, the moods of everyone in the city grew heavier with each passing day.

They had immediately connected the High Priest with Chu Jiubian.

But listening to how the common people spoke of him, it seemed as if this High Priest was a gentle and benevolent old man. Unlike Chu Jiubian, who was upright and aloof, yet whose words could command respect in the Imperial Court.

But even if these two weren’t the same person, there was definitely a connection between them.

Perhaps they were from the same faction. Or perhaps they were both gods!

If Chu Jiubian could fall from the sky, who knew if other immortals might fall as well?

Regardless of what others thought, they didn’t dare to make any further rash moves.

Now, not only were there no assasination attempts, but the entire capital returned to a state of peace and tranquility, as if it had gone back to the time when Emperor Yingzong still sat on the throne.

Everyone was already respectful of Chu Jiubian, and now that respect was tinged with a distinct air of obsequiousness.

They clearly knew that they should not offend this “deity” unless absolutely necessary.

However, the vortex of power could never remain calm for long. Just ten days later, trouble reared its head in morning court once more.

Xiao Wendao, the Deputy Minister of Works, submitted a memorial to the throne discussing the matter of Jiannan-wang overseeing the construction of the dams in Hexi Prefecture. It was said that he worked diligently from dawn till dusk during this period, and the construction was proceeding steadily.

The dams were now basically complete, and Jiannan-wang would soon return to the capital to report on his duties.

Xiao Wendao uttered a long string of praises for Bai Lihai, while also subtly hinting for Qin Xiao and Bai Lihong to reward Bai Lihai according to his merits.

This reward was the ability to enter the court and participate in government affairs early.

The Great Ning Dynasty stipulated that officials must reach the age of 22 and undergo their guan ceremony before they were entitled to serve in court. Therefore, Bai Lihai, who had just turned sixteen, was not actually allowed in court at this time.

Being sent to oversee the construction was already an exception.

However, a prince who could participate in court politics was completely different from a prince who had no power. The latter was merely a figurehead, while the former had the ability to achieve great things and win the hearts of the common people.

The emperor was young now. If a prince who remained in the capital was able to rise above him and gain more popular support, that wouldn’t be a good thing.

The Xiao family’s wolfish ambitions were glaringly obvious.

The officials stood in silence, not a single one of them uttering a sound.

This was originally a game between the Xiao family and Qin Xiao. If Bai Lihai successfully entered the court, Qin Xiao and the young emperor would be weakened, while the Xiao family would rise in power.

These old foxes were unwilling to get involved, and simply watched the two sides fight it out.

Qi Zhili glanced at the censors standing around him. When he saw them with their heads down indifferently, looking as if this was none of their business, he felt a surge of anger.

An imperial censor should be loyal and upright, fearless even in death.

But on second thought, not everyone had the support of the Mobei Army like him, so it was understandable that they would think twice.

Fine, then it was time for him to speak up.

He let out a quiet sigh, and was about to step out of the queue when he suddenly heard a young man’s clear, cold voice ring out in the hall: “Minister Xiao is truly an impatient person.”

Startled, Qi Zhili paused in his steps and looked toward the source of the voice.

The young man stood tall and elegant, dressed in crimson-purple official robes. His hair looked incongruous and stood out from the crowd, but it suited him perfectly.

It was Chu Jiubian.

He was connected to the “High Priest” mentioned in his cousin’s letter, and had also wielded “heavenly lightning,” intimidating the “gods” of the four great families.

Jiang Shuoye’s letter hadn’t gone into detail, only mentioning that he had received instructions from the High Priest in a dream, along with the stirrups, saddles, and several other treasures.

When Qi Zhili first read the contents of the letter, his thoughts and reaction were almost identical to those of everyone else – he immediately mistook Chu Jiubian and the High Priest for the same person.

The “High Priest” mentioned in Jiang Shuoye’s letter was powerful, mysterious, and benevolent…..he resembled a mighty, compassionate deity, a kind elder, completely unlike the upright, cunning, and intelligent Jiu-gongzi.

Qi Zhili felt that they couldn’t be the same person, but there must be some kind of relationship between them.

So he told Jiang Shuoye everything Chu Jiubian had done since he appeared, but he hadn’t received a response yet and didn’t know how the other party would react.

“What makes you say that, Grand Tutor?” Xiao Wendao regarded Chu Jiubian with a polite expression.

Chu Jiubian stood in place, not even stepping out of the queue as he said calmly: “Those who have rendered meritorious service should be rewarded. However, the how and what of that reward should always be decided by His Majesty.”

Xiao Wendao pursed his thin lips.

Xiao Huaiguan stood in front of Chu Jiubian with his back slightly bowed, the gentle smile on his face slowly fading away.

“The way you spoke just now, Minister Xiao, made it sound as if you were the Grand Tutor.” Chu Jiubian casually set the trap. “Are you here to instruct His Majesty on how to conduct himself during a morning court session?”

Reputation was of paramount importance in this era.

As a second-rank official, Xiao Wendao represented the Xiao family.

By openly guiding the emperor in making decisions during morning court, to put it nicely, he was instructing His Majesty on how to do his job. And to put it bluntly, he was attempting to control the emperor.

Of course, even if it was said that he was “instructing His Majesty on how to do his job,” it wouldn’t sound good if word got out.

In this era that advocated loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, such a rebellious act would surely be condemned to death by scholars and Confucian masters if it were to get out.

Why had Qin Xiao been criticized before? Because people had spread rumors that he was controlling the young emperor.

Xiao Wendao was not as shameless as Qin Xiao. If this reputation were to fall on him and the Xiao family, would he still have any face left?

Would the Xiao family still retain its century-old reputation for “loyalty and righteousness?”

They’d had a taste of this Jiu-gongzi’s sharp tongue these past few days. He was able to quietly dig a pit for someone, leaving them defenseless.

What kind of god was this?

What god could be so adept at navigating the complexities of officialdom?!

Surely they didn’t have political infighting in the immortal realm too?

Or perhaps, before he became a god, Jiu-gongzi had also worked in the Imperial Court?

Xiao Wendao had previously enjoyed watching Chu Jiubian set up pitfalls for people, especially when he saw those from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue suffer setbacks. But now that it was his turn, he felt a surge of fury rising within him.

“Impetuous!” An aged voice rang out, filled with anger. “Do you think you can control His Majesty’s decisions?”

This reprimand came from Xiao Huaiguan.

Xiao Wendao immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times in Bai Lihong’s direction, feigning terror as he said: “Your Majesty, please forgive this official, he absolutely did not mean it that way. This official knows he was wrong, and will never dare speak casually again. Begging forgiveness!”

Bai Lihong glanced at Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao didn’t make a move for the time being. That meant he wanted to leave this person hanging, so Bai Lihong maintained a stern expression and didn’t say a word.

Compared to his first day attending court, he was now a mature young emperor, able to quickly grasp the intentions of his uncle and Xiansheng and cooperate well with them.

Qin Xiao lowered his eyes toward Xiao Wendao where he was kneeling and begging forgiveness, then looked at Xiao Huaiguan, who wore an expression of anger. A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

It was extremely satisfying to have someone help him criticize others. No wonder these people formed cliques for personal gain.

Chu Jiubian’s persona in the court was that of a sharp-tongued person who feared nobody and was willing to confront anyone.

His three lightning shots had utterly intimidated these people, and there was also the “High Priest” lurking behind him, making it difficult for others to figure him out.

Therefore, these people would not confront Chu Jiubian directly. No matter how much hate and anger they held in their hearts, they still had to smile and cotton up to him after court.

They were all talented actors, none of whom could be looked down on.

Two more breaths passed. Seeing that matters had cooled down enough, Qin Xiao lightly tapped the back of his ear with his fingertip.

Bai Lihong then allowed the man to stand up.

Xiao Wendao thanked His Majesty and praised his magnanimity before returning to his place. The matter was therefore left unresolved.

The officials from the Ministry of War and Ministry of Revenue, who had been challenged by Chu Jiubian several times before, felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Was this how it felt to watch someone else be criticized?

It was indeed quite refreshing. They might want to speak freely, but had no ability to do so.

They weren’t Qi Zhili, and didn’t have the Mobei Army at their back.

And they were not like Chu Jiubian, possessing no divine power.

Moreover, Chu Jiubian’s advantage over them lay in the concept of “reputation.”

They cared about their reputations and their family’s prestige, but Chu Jiubian did not. As long as his identity as a “god” spread to the ears of the common people, his prestige would smoothly and inevitably be elevated.

Who would dare offend a god?

And how could a god possibly make a mistake?

Let alone criticizing people, even if Chu Jiubian were to curse, beat, or even kill someone in the court, many commoners and scholars would still defend him.

This realization caused the court officials to become even more envious of Qin Xiao.

Why was he so fortunate? Why was it that he alone had won Chu Jiubian’s favor?

Was it because he was the one who caught Chu Jiubian the day he descended to the mortal realm?

People glanced toward Chu Jiubian, intentionally or otherwise, but Chu Jiubian had no time to spare for them at this moment.

Because he heard a System notification in his ears.

[Friendly reminder: Believer Situ Zhaoling is requesting Host’s assistance.]

*

*

Nanjiang, inside the royal palace.

Situ Zhaoling clasped her hands together, bowed in all four directions, and murmured: “High Priest, please demonstrate your power! The fifteen days you promised may be too long.”

The High Priest had previously said that he would come to her in fifteen days, at which time the problem in the southern border region would be resolved.

But only ten days had passed, and the grain in dozens of granaries was already running out. It was estimated that supplies would not last for the entire fifteen days.

In an effort to extend the supplies for a few more days, they had instructed that porridge be cooked rather thin, but this still couldn’t withstand the consumption of a million people.

Starting the day before, her grandfather had the porridge cooked even thinner, but people still weren’t getting enough to eat and resentment was growing. Some people were already throwing fits and making a scene this morning.

This was in the main stronghold, with the royal palace and the chieftain in charge, so the people only dared to cry and complain, not to cause trouble.

But the situation was not necessarily the same in other towns and cities. There, people may already be causing trouble.

If this continued, something terrible was bound to happen.

Although Situ Zhaoling had been pampered from childhood and was literate and had read many books, all of that knowledge was of no use at this moment.

She had no connections, and no way to conjure food out of thin air.

Looking at the dark circles under her parents’ eyes, she felt helpless. She could only hope that the High Priest would hear her prayers and come a few days earlier to help them through this difficult time.

Situ Zhaoyao ran in from outside, covered in sweat.

Startled by his sister’s superstitious behavior, he asked: “What’s wrong, A-jie?”

Situ Zhaoling, however, pulled him down with her, saying: “A-di, quick, let’s pray to the High Priest together.”

“High Priest?” Situ Zhaoyao repeated blankly.

Astonished, Situ Zhaoling turned to stare at him: “You heard that?”

“What in the world?” She touched her throat. “I can say his name now?”

These past few days, she had been worried that it was just a dream, so she’d tested it on people several times. But each time, she was unable to say anything regarding the High Priest.

But now that she thought about it, she had never tried it on her brother.

“Aiya, let’s not talk about that now.” They boy grabbed her hand and rushed outside. “Something’s happened at the porridge stands!”

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T/N: Stress-translating is great, because it takes my entire brain and leaves no room for other thoughts. Things are, uh, not looking great in the U.S. right now. So enjoy some ridiculously frequent updates for the foreseeable future.

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Consider donating via Kofi here.

Chapter 29 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 31

Chu Jiubian held the gun steady with both hands, his gaze passing through the guards and assassins locked in combat, toward the distant silhouettes of the trees behind the high wall.

He remembered which trees, and which branches, contained the crouching archers.

The rain had stopped completely around noon today, and the sun was currently shining brightly, with a beautiful rainbow on the horizon.

His target was no longer a bullseye or a dummy, but a real, flesh-and-blood person.

The veins on the backs of Chu Jiubian’s hands bulged.

If he didn’t kill them, they would kill him.

He must abandon the civilized laws of modern society and use overwhelming force to deter those prying eyes in the shadows.

His index finger slowly bent.

Another arrow shot between the trees, and Chu Jiubian simultaneously pulled the trigger.

Bang—

Without a silencer, the muzzle of the gun emitted an almost deafening sound in the quiet surroundings.

A sharp ringing echoed in Chu Jiubian’s ears, and the whole world seemed to fall silent.

The bullet had grazed the arrow before striking the archer one hundred meters away at lightning speed, hitting him in the throat.

Chu Jiubian’s light-hued eyes reflected the swaying silhouette of the distant tree.

He pulled the trigger again.

Another loud bang, and the branches of another tree began to shake violently.

He picked up his binoculars and saw that two of the archers had disappeared, leaving behind only splatters of blood.

Outside the sedan chair, the two sides seemed to have paused, their eyes focused on the sedan chair in the center.

They were all dressed in tight-fitting black garments, and dark masks covered their faces, revealing only pairs of eyes filled with shock and fear.

What was that?

What were those thunderous roars just now?!

Before they could react, there was another loud bang.

An assassin holding a short sword fell to the ground with a thud, eyes wide open. A gruesome hole the size of a thumb had appeared between his eyebrows, gushing blood.

The bodyguard who had previously been fighting the assassin took a few steps back, moving away from the corpse on the ground.

Deeply shocked, he stared at the corpse in disbelief, then turned to look at the sedan chair one hundred meters away.

He seemed to have seen something shoot out of the sedan chair and hit the assassin between the eyebrows.

But it wasn’t an arrow, nor was it any kind of hidden weapon. He had never seen anything capable of hitting someone in the head from so far away.

Due to the limited weapons and materials available in this era, even the most capable archers couldn’t shoot through a person’s skull from one hundred meters away.

Other guards and assassins with exceptional eyesight had also noticed the abnormality with the distant archers.

Perhaps it was the thing that shot out of the sedan chair which had taken the lives of those archers.

So what exactly was it?

It was so fast that it was almost invisible to the human eye.

And why was there such a terrifying, thunderous sound?

The person inside the sedan chair…..

Everyone simultaneously thought of the rumors circling in the capital. Other than being a court official, Chu Jiubian was also said to be…..an immortal.

This person was really an immortal!

Everyone was utterly astonished.

Suddenly, one after another, the thuds of bodies hitting the ground could be heard.

The guards all took a few steps back, disregarding everything else as they stared warily at the corpses of the assassins.

“They took poison,” someone said after realizing what had happened.

The other guards rushed to check the bodies, and confirmed that they had all committed suicide by poison.

But they seemed to understand why they had committed suicide – they had come here to assassinate a god!

The heavens were watching. What a terrible sin it must be to attempt to murder a god!

So before things got out of hand and the situation became more complicated, it would be better to die to atone for their mistakes.

The four sedan-bearers remained stationed around the sedan chair, never more than two meters away from it. For this reason, they were the ones most affected by the gunshots.

When the first thunderous blast sounded from within the sedan chair, they were terrified, and even thought that lightning had struck the top of the sedan chair.

But they soon discovered that this was not the case – it was the person inside the sedan chair controlling the thunder.

And with each clap of thunder, an assassin died.

To control thunder – how terrifying!

The sedan-bearers had previously heard that Chu Jiubian could accurately predict the weather, even knowing when the rain would start and stop. Thus, it only seemed natural that he could control thunder as well.

But was this really something a mortal was capable of?

No!

Absolutely not.

Jiu-gongzi in the sedan chair must genuinely be a deity who had descended to earth!

Muffled claps of thunder on a clear day had startled those in the nearby offices of the Six Ministries. Many officials went to the courtyards to stare up at the sky in bewilderment, but there were no dark clouds to be seen.

“How can there be thunder in broad daylight?”

“I fear someone made a false oath and was struck down by lightning.”

“That didn’t sound like thunder to me. It sounded more like it was coming from the main street.”

“What else could it be but thunder? The road couldn’t have been broken by something heavy, could it? Hahahaha.”

Everyone laughed, not taking it seriously at all.

Wang Pengyi stood in the courtyard, gazing toward Chang’an Street with his brow furrowed. A bad feeling crept over him. 

Could it be that his grandfather and the others had made their move?

What else could it be but a large-scale operation?

He couldn’t help but recall Jiu-gongzi’s extraordinary qualities.

Could that “thunderous” sound just now be related to him?

On Chang’an Street, the guards were at a loss for what to do next.

Qin Xiao had previously ordered them to follow Chu Jiubian’s arrangements in everything they did. As long as it didn’t harm Bai Lihong or Qin Xiao, Chu Jiubian could make decisions as he pleased.

Therefore, it was up to Chu Jiubian to decide how to deal with the bodies of these assassins.

However, the other party still hadn’t shown his face. They didn’t know if the immortal required rest after using his divine power, or if they would commit a taboo by addressing him, so they didn’t dare speak up or disturb him for the time being.

Amidst the silence, the leading guard stepped forward and bowed. He was about to voice a question when he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.

The newcomer wore dark brocade robes embroidered with golden python patterns. It was Qin Xiao.

Chu Jiubian had already stored the pistol in his System Space.

His eyes were downcast, his ears ringing from the explosive bangs of the gunshots. He couldn’t hear any sounds outside, only the frantic, disordered beating of his own heart.

His gaze fell on his pale, slender hands. A faint pink tinged his palms, and his hands and arms were shaking from the shock.

He had killed someone.

He had really killed someone.

It turned out that doing so was easier than he had imagined.

Something trapped behind the twisted cell door in his mind seemed to break free, gradually eroding his remaining sanity.

“Murderer!”

“You’re the same as him, you’re both murderers!”

“Why wasn’t it you who died? Why wasn’t it you?”

“You both deserve to die! You deserve to die!”

A woman’s hysterical screams echoed in his mind. Chu Jiubian seemed to see her rush over frantically, hands wrapping tightly around his throat as her empty eyes filled with moldering hatred.

A murderer.

He had the blood of a murderer in his veins. He had the genes for violence.

He watched as the madness in the woman’s eyes faded, replaced by endless grief and helplessness. She hugged him tight, apologizing repeatedly.

He reached out to touch the woman’s shoulders, but she abruptly stood, grabbed his thin arm, and shoved him toward the filthy bedside that was covered in vomit and alcohol.

A man snored loudly, passed out drunk on the bed.

The woman rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and knelt down in front of him.

She placed the kitchen knife in his small palm and made him grip it firmly.

Chu Jiubian watched the woman smile at him, so gentle and tender, even as tears streamed from her eyes.

“Baby, please kill him. Please kill him, okay?”

“Help your mama.”

“Save your mama!”

He let out a hoarse scream.

Chu Jiubian felt his hands trembling violently.

His head spun and his stomach churned.

The woman suddenly shoved him away and snatched the kitchen knife from his hands.

“You won’t kill him? Fine, I will!” The woman looked crazed. She raised the knife, then slashed fiercely toward the person on the bed.

Blood covered his field of vision.

Chu Jiubian suddenly smelled the faint scent of gunpowder.

He looked down to see his own slender hands, no longer those of a child. The lingering scent of gunpowder was coming from them.

Most of the nail on his right thumb had been torn, leaving it bloody and mangled. He raised his hand to his lips, then bit off that portion of his fingernail.

His frantic heartbeat immediately calmed.

He tossed away the nail and gently wiped the blood from his lips with a handkerchief.

He calmly bought alcohol, anti-inflammatory medicine, and gauze from the System store and skillfully bandaged the wound.

Excruciating pain spread through his flesh and bones, accompanied by the ringing in his ears, yet his mind became increasingly clear.

Ancient times were different from the modern era. He must properly disinfect and bandage the wound, lest it become infected.

Suddenly, the curtain beside him lifted up and sunlight streamed in, shining on the young man’s pale face.

Chu Jiubian was startled, and the ringing in his ears subsided.

He turned his head to look out the window.

The man’s well-defined knuckles lifted the sedan curtain, and Chu Jiubian saw his dark robes, along with an embroidered belt cinching his waist that revealed a glimpse of undulating muscles beneath the fabric.

The man leaned in slightly, revealing an incomparably handsome face.

Qin Xiao met Chu Jiubian’s distant eyes through the window, his gaze gradually falling upon the crimson mark on the other’s lips.

Further down, he saw the young man’s bloodstained hand.

A deathly silence fell.

Qin Xiao raised his hand and lifted the curtain to the top of the sedan chair. Reaching through the side window with both hands, he retied the bandages on Chu Jiubian’s finger.

Chu Jiubian looked down and suddenly smiled.

“What are you smiling about?” Qin Xiao asked.

Chu Jiubian looked up at him.

The two were separated by the window, but they were still so close that Chu Jiubian could see the inconspicuous little mole on Qin Xiao’s nose.

Instead of answering, he asked: “When did you get here?”

“When you were displaying your divine power.” Qin Xiao withdrew his hands and regarded him with a half-smile. “I just didn’t expect that an immortal would have to harm his body when casting spells.”

Chu Jiubian smiled as well: “It was unexpected.”

Qin Xiao straightened up and lowered the sedan curtain. He then said to the four sedan bearers: “See to your duty.”

The sedan chair was lifted again and steadily carried to the government office.

Qin Xiao stood in place, watching the sedan chair move farther and farther away until it turned onto another road and disappeared.

“My Lord, what should be done with these assassins?” the leader of the secret guards asked.

Qin Xiao: “Find An Wuji.”

“Yes.” 

When An Wuji arrived after hearing the news, Qin Xiao was no longer there.

He looked at the pile of corpses, then at the ground where there wasn’t much blood, and finally fixed his gaze on the most conspicuous pool of blood.

“My Lord, look at this corpse.”

An Wuji went over and saw that the assassin had been shot in the head.

His eyes darkened slightly, a storm raging within him.

He had been in the city just now not far from here, and had naturally heard the three loud bangs.

He had connected them to Chu Jiubian almost instantly.

Was this the work of an immortal?

How impressive.

An Wuji was already firm in his belief that Chu Jiubian was a divine immortal, and now felt even more awe.

Thank heavens.

Thank heavens that the Young Master and their Lord were of one mind. Having such a powerful deity in their camp provided a great sense of security.

“My Lord, what should be done with these corpses?”

An Wuji snapped out of his musings. There was a cold glint in his eyes as he said in a deep voice: “Return them to where they came from.”

“Yes!”

Not long after, a Xiao family guard hurriedly arrived at the main courtyard where the family head resided.

Only after his presence was announced by a servant did he enter the courtyard.

Xiao Yao sat under a long pavilion, speaking with Xiao Huaiguan, the Minister of Personnel, as they played a game of chess.

“Reporting to the Family Head and the Minister, news just arrived from Hibiscus Garden that all of the assassins we sent out have perished. Their bodies were even dumped back into Hibiscus Garden by the Imperial Guards.”

Hibiscus Garden was where this group of powerful figures had met previously to discuss important matters.

Xiao Huaiguan’s cloudy eyes fixed on the guard, and he asked in a kindly tone: “How did they all die?”

“Thirty-seven people committed suicide by poison, two died of blade wounds…..and there was one more.”

Xiao Yao placed a white piece down, forcing the black pieces into a desperate situation.

He raised his eyes and smiled at the guard.

The guard’s face drained of color and he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying: “One person’s forehead was pierced by an unknown object, and the other archers were nowhere to be found.”

Six archers had been sent by the Lu and Wang families. They must have either returned to the families alive, or their bodies were taken back by those families.

“What do you mean by ‘an unknown object’?” Xiao Huaiguan asked in confusion. “What sort of weapon can pierce directly through the brow?”

“This subordinate doesn’t know.” The guard began to tremble as a thought occurred to him.

Xiao Yao opened his fan and waved it gently. His voice was as refreshing as the breeze: “What is the use of keeping your tongue if you’re unable to speak clearly?”

Xiao Huaiguan glanced toward him.

The guard trembled even more violently, and said in a shaky voice: “R-reporting to the Family Head, this subordinate heard that the object was a divine weapon created by Grand Tutor Chu, which is capable of summoning heavenly lightning!”

Xiao Huaiguan chuckled: “How miraculous.”

“A divine weapon?” Xiao Yao was intrigued, and sat up straighter. “Explain it to me in detail.”

“It was Commander Xiao who told this to us subordinates. As for the rest…..”

Before the guard could continue, a middle-aged man clad in tight-fitting garments walked into the courtyard.

This person was nearly 1.9 meters tall. Although he was almost 40 years old and sported a full beard, one could still discern a beauty to his face typical of a member of the Xiao family.

Xiao Ying dismissed the guard, then bowed to Xiao Yao and Xiao Huaiguan.

“Second Cousin, please have a seat.” Xiao Yao gestured to the stool beside him, not putting on any airs as the family head.

“Thank you, Family Head.” Xiao Ying went over and sat down.

“Have you found out what happened?”

“Yes.” Xiao Ying was the commander of the Xiao family’s 30,000 private soldiers. From the moment he heard that they were going to take action against Chu Jiubian, he had personally guarded the vicinity of Chang’an Street.

Upon hearing the three thunderous blasts, a bad feeling came over him and he rushed over, only to find that all of the assassins on the official road had committed suicide.

Fortunately, there were still four surviving archers. He stopped one of them to get a general understanding of the situation, and then instructed a subordinate to come back and notify Xiao Yao.

He stayed behind to hear the details, then hurried over.

As soon as he sat down, he began to explain everything he had heard in detail.

“You mean to say that Chu Jiubian summoned heavenly lightning and killed three assassins?” Xiao Huaiguan shook his head with a chuckle. “That is a bit absurd.”

“Absurd?” Xiao Yao regarded him with gleaming eyes. “I don’t think it’s entirely impossible.”

Xiao Huaiguan raised an eyebrow: “The Family Head believes this?”

A strange light flashed in Xiao Yao’s eyes: “With the ability to predict celestial phenomena and create so many miracles, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was able to summon heavenly lightning.”

Moreover, even if it wasn’t heavenly lightning that killed those people, it had been proven that Chu Jiubian had absolute means to protect himself.

Even without Qin Xiao’s guards, the assassins they’d sent wouldn’t have been able to do anything to him.

“It’s such a pity that this person cannot be of use to my Xiao family.” Xiao Yao shook his head as he spoke, muttering to himself: “No, how could someone like him be controlled by others?”

Xiao Huaiguan contorted his expression and coughed twice.

Xiao Yao’s eyes flickered. He quickly feigned concern, asking: “Is Great Uncle unwell?”

Xiao Huaiguan lamented: “When people get old, their brains age as well.”

“Great Uncle is joking.” Xiao Yao said with a hint of worry, “I am young and inexperienced, and our family’s great ship still requires your help steering it, Great Uncle.”

Xiao Huaiguan chuckled: “The Family Head has made this old man happy again.”

“I mean it sincerely.” Xiao Yao poured him a cup of tea and raised it toward him, saying: “Please have some tea to soothe your throat. Your assistance will be needed to make decisions from here on out.”

Xiao Huaiguan looked at him intently. There was a smile in his cloudy eyes, but instead of gentle benevolence, it exuded a sense of oppression. 

Xiao Yao’s hand did not waver, and the smile on his face remained unchanged.

After a long moment, Xiao Huaiguan finally accepted the teacup from his hand and took a sip.

Xiao Ying kept his eyes slightly lowered throughout the process, as if he hadn’t noticed the subtle atmosphere between the two.

The teacup made a crisp sound as it was placed on the table.

“This man is highly skilled. We must avoid direct confrontation with him for now,” Xiao Huaiguan said in a warm tone. “But his cooperation with Ning-wang is something that must be taken seriously.”

“Does Uncle mean that we should sow discord between the two?”

Someone as capable as Chu Jiubian, who had come to the capital and entered the vortex of power, would certainly not be satisfied with being someone else’s subordinate.

He must have a higher and more indefinable purpose.

Therefore, he wasn’t choosing to ally with Qin Xiao, but given the current situation, what Qin Xiao was offering him suited his needs best.

“Let’s wait and see,” said Xiao Huaiguan.

He picked up a black piece and placed it on the board, instantly transforming a hopeless situation into a chance for survival.

“This relationship based on mutual benefits will inevitably break down,” he said as if lamenting.

Xiao Yao lowered his gaze to the chessboard and said gently: “ This Zimei has learned much.”

Mutual benefits?

But what if Chu Jiubian was actually a god?

Then his supposed “love tribulation” with Qin Xiao would be the basis of their close cooperation.

A love tribulation.

Since it was a tribulation, it couldn’t be a good thing.

There was affection, yet also calamity. Betrayal would be the weapon that collapsed their relationship.

Xiao Yao stroked the white chess piece in his hand and lightly placed it down.

*

*

The Wang family.

Wang Huanzhi found these arguments laughable.

The common people may believe in the supernatural, but this was not necessarily the case for the wealthy and powerful.

These so-called gods, divine right to the throne, and celestial phenomena were nothing more than methods for the emperor to control the hearts of the people.

How could there possibly be gods in this world?

But his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the body of the archer in the courtyard. There was a small bloody hole in his forehead, and his eyes were wide open as if in disbelief of his easy death.

How exactly had Chu Jiubian killed this person?

Could…..could he really be a god?

Even Wang Huanzhi’s supposedly firm resolve was thrown into turmoil.

Wang Zhiyuan, Minister of Rites, along with his advisor Wang Zhang, wore solemn expressions as they stood to the side with their brows furrowed.

If Chu Jiubian was truly a god, then his close relationship with Qin Xiao was not a good thing for them.

How could mortals possibly defeat a god?

They must find a way to create discord between Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao – otherwise, they would be subservient to Qin Xiao for the rest of their lives!

It must be said that these wealthy and powerful people were all of one mind, and were all thinking the same thing.

In the study in the Lu family’s main courtyard, Lu Youwei, Minister of War, and his strategist Lu Tong both shared the same idea.

Only the Family Head, Lu Jinfeng, frowned and said: “I’ve said it before – asassination is the work of the despicable, and is a disgrace to the Lu family.”

“Yes, you are indeed upright and honest. But isn’t this vast Lu family supported by treacherous villains like us? If we relied on you —”

Seeing Lu Jinfeng’s unsightly expression, Lu Youwei sneered: “Our Lu family went along with Qin Jingzhao and his wife eight years ago.”

Lu Jinfeng rose and walked out, his face cold and grim.

But upon reaching the door, he stopped and said: “The Lu family, having persecuted loyal officials, did indeed die eight years ago.”

With that, he turned and left.

Behind him, Lu Youwei crushed the teacup in his hand with a crack.

At the same time, a cold scoff was heard from the main Qiu family courtyard.

“What supernatural abilities? They were just useless idiots who couldn’t even kill a person properly.” The Qiu family head, Qiu Xuanzheng, picked up his two large hammers and said: “I’m going to pay a visit to that Jiu-gongzi.”

“Qiu Ren! You stop right there!” Minister of Justice Qiu Heng strode forward and reached out to snatch the hammers from his hands.

Qiu Xuanzheng held onto them tightly and said with little patience: “Ge, let go. He’s just a charlatan. Laozi will kill him today so that you don’t have to worry about this and that all the time.”

“Who’s the laozi here?” Qiu Heng said angrily, “Do you understand what it means that he shot through a person’s skull from a hundred paces away? You’ll be shot dead before you even get close!”

“Don’t listen to their nonsense. How could someone shoot through a person’s head from a hundred paces away? They must have been closer than that.”

If they were closer than that, they would have been smashed to a pulp with a single blow.

A vein throbbed on Qiu Heng’s forehead: “You had better stay put and behave yourself. Whether you’re practicing martial arts or training soldiers, just don’t go out and cause me any trouble.”

Chu Jiubian’s performance today had obviously been intended to intimidate.

He was telling everyone that he was not someone to be trifled with.

Anyone who wanted to lay a hand on him should first consider whether they were qualified.

Clearly, with his own abilities and Qin Xiao’s protection, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to get close to him.

Qiu Xuanzheng had never listened to anyone since childhood, and his older brother was the only one who could keep him in check.

Now that he had been scolded by his older brother, he didn’t dare actually go and confront Chu Jiubian, and could only put down his two hammers in frustration.

Just then, the steward came from outside the courtyard.

“Family Head, My Lord, our caravans have sent word that the Mobei Army has created two new items that greatly enhance the cavalry’s strength when equipped on their horses.”

“Oh?” Qiu Xuanzheng’s interest was piqued. “What kind of objects?”

“They are said to be called stirrups and saddles, but their specific design and function in actual combat are still unknown. I expect there will be more updates in a few days,” the steward reported.

“Stirrups and saddles?” Qiu Xuanzheng frowned. “Why do these words sound familiar?”

“Ge, have you heard of them?” he turned to glance at his older brother, only to find that his expression was rather unpleasant. He quickly asked: “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“There is!”

There was a big problem!

---

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Chapter 28 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 30

The longsword cleaved through the air right toward Jiang Shuoye’s face.

The cold glint of the blade reflected in his dark pupils.

Just as it was about to strike him, he lay back on his horse to dodge. And simultaneously, he kept his spear at an angle and thrust it straight toward Mir Khan’s heart.

Mir Khan tightened the reins, and his horse immediately changed direction as he leaned to the side to evade the attack.

The two men and their horses brushed past each other, then turned their mounts back around and attacked again.

The first move was a test.

Now, they had gained an understanding of each other’s strengths.

Jiang Shuoye could tell that the unfamiliar general before him was quite capable, but he was still somewhat inferior to Muhammad.

Mir Khan, who had previously been dismissive of this person, was forced to calm down and focus. He dared not be careless again.

This Mobei general was indeed very formidable.

The two clashed again, blade striking spear with a burst of dazzling sparks and a teeth-gritting screech.

Jiang Shuoye’s spear pressed down heavily on the longsword, and Mir Khan could only passively brace his weapon to defend himself.

He roared and squeezed his legs tightly around his horse’s belly, arm muscles bulging as he tried to repel the spear.

But he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Jiang Shuoye had suddenly stood up, and an even more terrifying weight pressed down on his opponent. Mir Khan gritted his teeth, but the blade still pressed down lower and lower, until it was nearly touching his shoulder.

The sharp tip of the spear drew toward his throat.

This was an extremely perilous position; if Jiang Shuoye changed the angle of the spear even slightly, it would pierce his neck.

Mir Khan roared and slammed his legs into his horse’s belly, causing the warhorse to suddenly bow its head, lowering the rider on its back as well.

As the force of their clash dissipated, Mir Khan seized the opportunity to lean back and avoid the spear.

Jiang Shuoye’s eyes narrowed. He immediately withdrew his spear, only to thrust it out again at lightning speed.

And this time, he stabbed toward Mir Khan’s abdomen.

Mir Khan instinctively raised his blade to block it.

Jiang Shuoye’s arm went numb when the weapons clashed, but he lost no strength. Instead, he twisted the shaft of the spear, and the iron lock at the joint of the shaft and spearhead wrapped around the blade.

Mir Khan instinctively pulled on the hilt of his sword, just as Jiang Shuoye pulled the spear back with all his might. The warhorses under them neighed and reared up.

As the two forces pulled against each other, Jiang Shuoye abruptly loosened his grip on the weapon and the sharp tip slid toward Mir Khan’s chest.

Mir Khan was startled and subconsciously loosened his grip, but Jiang Shuoye suddenly pulled the spear back along with the sword.

He had been disarmed!

Alarmed, Mir Khan immediately spurred his horse to flee.

However, he hadn’t fled far when he heard a whoosh behind him.

Thinking it was a spear, he immediately ducked, but what came at him was his own longsword.

The longsword slashed down fiercely, severing his right arm.

Blood fountained out.

Mir Khan roared and fled in disgrace toward the military camp.

The remaining Tatar cavalry rushed to cover him, and quickly prepared to retreat. But the Mobei Cavalry, which had easily been shaken off before, were unusually difficult to deal with today.

The Mobei soldiers were able to simply loosen the reins and fight them with two hands holding their weapons.

Previously, the Mobei cavalry had been forced to hold the reins tightly with one hand to avoid falling off, but now they seemed to possess an ability exclusive to the Tatars – remaining firmly seated on their horses!

Due to this, the Tatars’ previous advantage over them ceased to exist.

In fact, due to the fact of “the longer the weapon, the stronger the force,” the advantage of the Mobei cavalry’s long spears became prominent.

Thus, it didn’t take long for the Tatar cavalry to fall behind.

When they saw their lieutenant general flee with a severed arm, the morale of the army collapsed. With a call of “retreat,” the Tatar soldiers scattered and fled. 

The border between the Northern Desert and the Tatars was the vast Yanbian Grasslands. To the south lay the desert, as well as border towns and the garrisons of the Mobei Army.

To the north lay even more expansive grasslands and Muhammad’s Tatar court.

There were dozens of Tatar tribes of various sizes, which had only been brought under the rule of Muhammad’s tribe a few decades ago, after which his court was established.

In order to better defend against Great Ning, King Muhammad had sent his younger brother Muhammad to lead an army to secure the other side of the grasslands.

When the Qin Family Army had been guarding the border, the Tatars rarely appeared to harass them.

Later on, in order to put Emperor Yingzong on the throne, the Qin army led by Grand Marshal Qin had sent half of its troops to the capital and other important locations within the territory. The remaining 50,000 troops, led by General Qin and his wife – Qin Xiao’s father and mother — had continued to guard the northern border.

Due to the Qin Family Army’s fearsome reputation, and with Grand Marshal Qin and his wife remaining to guard the area, the Tatars did not dare to invade rashly even though there were only 50,000 troops left.

However, not long after Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne, he was unable to tolerate the Qin family’s growing power and extended olive branches to the Jiang family several times, intending for them to annex the Qin family’s 50,000 troops guarding the northern lands.

The Jiang family’s ancestors had gained power under the reign of Emperor Gaozong, and later during the reigns of Emperor Mingzong and Emperor Wuzong. During the later years of Emperor Wuzong’s reign, the army was repeatedly reduced. By the time of Emperor Chengzong, only 20,000 troops remained in the region and were mostly incorporated into other armies.

At that time, Jiang Shuoye’s father, along with the clan elders and other relatives, actually preferred to pursue scholarly careers. In addition, Qi Zhili of the Qi family became the Chief Censor, and the Jiang family felt that entering the court was the better option.

Unfortunately, none of their family members had any talent in this area, and the family’s fortunes declined even further.

Under these circumstances, Emperor Yingzong’s desire to give them official positions was like a windfall for them.

Jiang Shuoye’s father accepted the offer with little hesitation, leading the Jiang family and their 20,000 soldiers outside the territory to the Northern Desert.

Unexpectedly, just as they were about to arrive, they received news that General Qin and his wife had perished in a sudden Tatar invasion.

Emperor Yingzong ordered the Jiang family to rush over at once, take over the remaining 40,000 Qin troops, and launch a counterattack against the Tatars.

None of the Jiang family members had ever been on a battlefield, so Jiang Shuoye’s father had no recourse but to go himself. Unsurprisingly, he suffered two defeats in a row.

Fortunately, Jiang Shuoye arrived at that moment.

He was only seventeen years old at the time, and had not been with the Jiang family for nearly ten years. Instead, he had been traveling the world with his master, learning martial arts and helping people where he could.

He’d learned by chance that the Jiang family had set out for the Northern Desert, so he bid farewell to his master and rushed over.

His original intention was to persuade the Jiang family not to let themselves be used by Emperor Yingzong. The Qin Family Army had rendered meritorious service by helping to defend the border, and should not be discarded in such a way after serving their purpose. At the very least, the Jiang family should not be the “knife” used against them.

But when he arrived, he learned that Grand Marshal Qin and his wife had both died in battle.

This was clearly suspicious. He even suspected that it was a scheme orchestrated by Emperor Yingzong in collusion with the Tatars, but there was no evidence.

Given the current situation, any deal between the emperor and the Tatars was no longer valid. Emperor Yingzong had no ability to control the Tatars, and the other side clearly meant to take advantage of the Qin Family Army’s lack of leadership to invade the Northern Desert.

Jiang Shuoye had no choice but to don his armor and go into battle.

He was only seventeen years old, and an unknown junior. Not to mention the Qin Family Army, even the 20,000 troops brought by the Jiang family didn’t take him seriously.

However, all of this changed when Jiang Shuoye entered the battlefield.

He had inherited the martial talent and military command skills of the Jiang family ancestors, and had also learned a great deal from his mysterious master. Having spent many years in the jianghu, he had witnessed all sorts of deceit and treachery, and was basically self-taught regarding military strategy.

Therefore, when he went to the battlefield and the two armies faced off, he killed the Tatar army’s general with a single shot.

Then, he led his soldiers to drive the Tatar army back to the other side of the Yanbian Grasslands.

He became famous in a single battle.

Jiang Shuoye was appointed Commander of the Northern Desert by Emperor Yingzong, holding a second-grade rank.

The Qin Family Army and the Jiang army then merged to form the Mobei Army.

After that, he submitted a memorial requesting to recruit more soldiers, and only then did the number of troops slowly increase.

Now, eight years later, the formerly separate armies had completely merged into one, becoming the current 80,000-strong Mobei Army.

Jiang Shuoye’s reputation gradually spread along with that of the Mobei Army, intimidating the Muhammad royal court and the Tatar tribes.

However, since the beginning of this year, Tatar troops had been raiding the border with increasing frequency.

They never launched an attack; each time, it was all bark and no bite, as if they were waiting for some kind of opportunity or brewing conspiracy.

Jiang Shuoye was deeply worried, and at this point he began to intensify the training of the cavalry.

Fortunately, with the guidance of the High Priest, he now possessed treasures such as stirrups and saddles, which were truly able to solve his urgent problem.

The soldiers cheered jubilantly, celebrating a victory that had been easier than any they had ever achieved before.

“The General is amazing! With these stirrups and saddle, I can swing my spear even harder.”

“That’s right. When I rode on horseback before, I was so afraid of falling off that I had to hold onto the reins with one hand. Now, I can let go of them without fear.”

“Look at how those Tatars are fleeing in disarray. It’s so satisfying!”

Jiang Shuoye exhaled slowly.

He had previously wanted to explain that the “stirrups and saddle” were divine provenance,  but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he couldn’t get them to come out.

Perhaps the immortal was immune to fame and fortune, and didn’t want him to publicize such a thing.

But when he heard the soldiers’ praise, he only felt ashamed.

This battle was a resounding victory, and it wouldn’t be long before the common people of the north heard about it. They would surely praise the bravery of the soldiers and commend their general for his skill in training the troops.

But the majority of the credit actually belonged to the High Priest, and Jiang Shuoye didn’t want to steal his glory.

Perhaps he should wait until he met the High Priest again and ask permission to spread his deeds, so that the common people and soldiers would remember the High Priest’s benevolence.

He ordered everyone to take the bodies of the fallen soldiers and bury them on the outskirts.

They all sprang into action.

Chu Jiubian hadn’t expected to witness such an intense, thrilling battle, but he had finally gained an understanding of Jiang Shuoye’s abilities.

He looked in the direction of the camera.

On the vast grassland, a young general clad in silver armor sat atop a tall steed, spear in hand as he gazed toward the fleeing Tatar army. The bloodstains splattered across his cold, handsome face only accentuated his fierce, murderous aura.

He was indeed a brave and capable general. He wasn’t reckless at all, but was instead cautious and intelligent, with almost no weaknesses.

No wonder the Imperial Court was wary of him; they feared not only the 80,000 Mobei troops, but also Jiang Shuoye himself.

Jiang Shuoye suddenly seemed to sense something, and glanced in a certain direction.

Chu Jiubian met his gaze through the camera and couldn’t help but smile.

This guy was as alert as ever.

However, given the other party’s current state, it seemed unlikely that he would easily be able to fall asleep or relax. He would probably call his subordinates to review the battle as soon as he got back.

“System, how do I remind him to go to sleep?” Chu Jiubian asked.

It was really troublesome that a Believer had to be asleep or in a daze in order to enter the Divine Realm. Were there to be an emergency, he wouldn’t be able to notify or summon his Believers right away.

[Hello, Host. This System provides a spatial transmission service. Only 500 points must be spent to reach a Believer, with a duration not to exceed one minute.]

[Friendly reminder: this spatial transmission service violates the rules of the three-dimensional world. Host may experience side effects such as dizziness and minor internal bleeding. These side effects will resolve naturally in two to three days, so there is no need to worry.]

Five hundred points?

And so many side effects!

Chu Jiubian replied decisively: “No need.”

Upon seeing his stinginess, the System added: [This System also provides a message transmission service capable of transmitting your words to a Believer. Each entry of ten characters or less costs 2 points. For entries exceeding ten characters, an additional point is charged for every three extra characters.]

Chu Jiubian: “…..”

It really seized every opportunity to make him spend points.

He might call his Believers in their dreams more often in the future, and send messages occasionally, which would consume two or more points each time.

He had to spend points everywhere, but it was getting harder and harder to earn them.

No wonder the System didn’t issue missions – even if it didn’t, Chu Jiubian would do his utmost to earn Faith Points and feed them to the System.

“Do you offer monthly or yearly subscription services?”

[This System does not provide such services. Thank you for your understanding.]

Fine, at least there was a messaging function.

“What if a Believer wants to contact me?” Chu Jiubian asked.

[Host can enable the real-time monitoring function, which only requires a monthly payment of 30 points. Once this function is enabled, this System can monitor a Believer’s status in real time. If a Believer is in a life-threatening situation or needs to contact Host, this System will notify Host in a timely manner.]

Oh, now it knew about monthly subscriptions. 

Chu Jiubian said speechlessly: “I’ll purchase it.”

This feature was vital. Thirty points it was.

Jiang Shuoye naturally felt the familiar sensation of being watched, and his heart involuntarily constricted.

When had the High Priest appeared?

Was he here to see how the stirrups and saddles worked in actual combat?

No wonder he was a celestial being; he was able to make such accurate calculations.

However, the High Priest would always leave as soon as he came, giving Jiang Shuoye no chance to thank him in person.

Should he try to persuade him to stay, and ask to meet with him?

He wondered if that would offend the god.

Just as he was dithering, the cheers of the soldiers around him abruptly cut off. His ears heard only silence. Suddenly, the distant, ethereal cry of a phoenix sounded.

He subconsciously looked up, and saw a phoenix with a long, bright golden tail flying down from the clear sky!

The divine bird, draped in colorful rays of light, flew over his head and made a circle.

He heard the High Priest’s clear, cool voice echo in his ears: “At noon, I will seek you in your dreams.”

With a flap of its long wings, the phoenix cried out as it flew toward the blazing sun and vanished.

Jiang Shuoye was in shock for a long stretch of time. When he came back to his senses, he glanced at the soldiers around him but found that they weren’t acting any differently, and were still moving the bodies of the dead soldiers.

So he was the only one to witness that miraculous scene.

He was the only one present who was truly blessed by the god.

An indescribable excitement took root in his heart.

Noon.

Jiang Shuoye glanced at the sun; there was still an hour left. He must hurry back to the military camp and go to sleep.

The High Priest had said he would enter his dreams, so he naturally needed to be sleeping.

It was just a question of if he would be able to fall asleep in his excited state.

Chu Jiubian shared this worry.

[Please rest assured, Host. This System can conjure images to calm the mind and soothe the spirit. Believers can reach a state of emptiness even if they cannot sleep, simply by wanting to dream.]

The System had just now conjured an image of a golden phoenix, and the gold dust falling from it had the effect of inducing dreams.

And it wouldn’t put someone to sleep if they wanted to stay awake, which was convenient.

These were all hidden features of the System, which had been perfected through the use of many previous hosts.

So before him, the System must have followed quite a few other hosts.

The Causal System – its original name – had only changed to the Great Ning System after it was bound to Chu Jiubian, based on the path he might take in the future.

But in the end, its purpose was still to help Chu Jiubian correct a causality.

But what exactly was wrong with this world?

Deep in thought, Chu Jiubian sat on his throne for a long time until someone fell into the Divine Realm, at which point he looked up.

Jiang Shuoye was already very skilled at this, and jumped down from mid-air without giving the golden phoenix a chance to catch him.

Chu Jiubian propped his cheek up on one fist, watching this person emerge from the mist.

“Jiang Shuoye greets the High Priest.”

The young general bowed, still clad in his silver armor and exuding a warlike aura.

“Please sit,” Chu Jiubian said.

“Yes.” Jiang Shuoye was clearly excited, and his body was somewhat stiff as he sat down.

It was unreasonable to expect the god to speak first, so Jiang Shuoye said: “Many thanks to the High Priest for the diagrams and books he previously gifted me. Our Mobei Army’s great victory over the Tatars today came about because of these stirrups and saddles, which is all thanks to you.”

“It’s only that when someone asked me about them before, I was unable to speak your name, leading others to misunderstand that it was my doing. I’m truly ashamed.”

He quickly offered this explanation, knowing that Chu Jiubian had been watching him before and fearing that the other party would misunderstand that he had taken credit.

“It’s alright,” Chu Jiubian said calmly. “If anyone asks again in the future, you may mention my name, but you must not mention anything about the Divine Realm.”

He granted Jiang Shuoye the authority to spread his message, but left the matter of the Divine Realm aside, as it was his biggest secret.

Jiang Shuoye hurriedly agreed. 

Chu Jiubian paused for a moment before slowly opening his mouth to say: “You have passed the test, and may become my disciple.”

Jiang Shuoye was ecstatic.

To become the disciple of an immortal – what an honor!

 At the sight of his reaction, Chu Jiubian continued: “From now on, you may refer to yourself as my subordinate. Are you willing?”

He spoke in a cryptic, mystical manner, like a charlatan spreading heresy, but Jiang Shuoye immediately stood up and bowed, saying deferentially: “Thanking the High Priest for his favor! This subordinate is willing to serve you with his life!”

He didn’t make this decision on a whim, but rather because he had witnessed Chu Jiubian’s abilities.

If he was the disciple of an immortal, he would surely be able to fight for more benefits for the Mobei Army and the common people of Great Ning.

Of course, he wasn’t an ungrateful, heartless person. Since the High Priest had given him good things, he naturally wanted to repay him.

“I just don’t know what I, a mere mortal, can do for you?” he asked respectfully.

As expected of someone of noble birth – he knew that both mortal and god must exchange benefits. Right now, without Chu Jiubian even having to ask, he was already asking him for a “mission.”

Chu Jiubian was very satisfied with his reaction. He naturally didn’t hold back, saying mildly: “I am undergoing a tribulation in this world, and need the faith of believers to achieve success. All you need to do is have faith in me.”

Tribulation?

Faith?

Jiang Shuoye understood immediately.

“Tribulations” were certain obstacles on the path of godhood, and overcoming them would make one stronger.

To overcome this so-called “tribulation” required the faith of believers.

However, since the High Priest had come from outside this world, his reputation here was not as great as those of the gods in the temples and monasteries, so nobody knew of his prestige and he could not gather faith.

Moreover, the gods and Buddhas in those Daoist temples required incense offerings and faith. The High Priest also needed faith to prove his legitimacy as a deity.

And the High Priest didn’t even need incense offerings, nor did he ask for temples and monasteries to be built. He only asked that more people know about him and believe in him. That was far too little!

He was practically a saint, incorruptible and virtuous!

Jiang Shuoye was even more awed, and his posture became even more respectful: “Please rest assured, High Priest, this subordinate will handle the matter well.”

This person was sensible and of good character, upright and grateful.

Chu Jiubian felt that the Mobei Army would definitely be his strongest support from now on.

However, the current strength of the Mobei Army was still not quite up to par, and was far from the “divine weapon” he desired.

The most obvious problem was its insufficient combat readiness.

Chu Jiubian had just noticed the weapons used by the soldiers. Whether it was the spears of the Mobei Army or the longswords of the Tatar army, they were just common ironware replete with porous iron and impurities.

This forging method resulted in weapons with short lifespans and a low success rate.

Jiang Shuoye’s spear was slightly better, but it was still inferior to the steel spears seen in later generations.

There were also the iron stirrups. The ones Jiang Shuoye had used were a little deformed after he stepped on them to stand during battle.

This demonstrated the poor quality of ironware in this era.

If only steel could be made.

Chu Jiubian recalled that in his original world, steelmaking technology seemed to have existed during the Western Han Dynasty. Repeated forging resulted in “refined steel,” which was on a completely different level from ironware.

With more hard work, he might be able to bring about “steelmaking technology”…..

Chu Jiubian’s thoughts wandered further and further, until he had built a skyscraper in his mind with all of the possibilities.

He looked down at Jiang Shuoye, who was sitting quietly in his chair. He was clearly a decisive and ruthless general, but at this moment, he had the look of a model student.

He waited silently while Chu Jiubian was deep in thought, and didn’t interrupt. This demonstrated his keen observation skills.

These Believers…..he had picked them well.

And good Believers deserved good investments.

In a good mood, Chu Jiubian said: “There is a method for refining steel, which I will now give to you.”

He bought a book titled “From Forging Ironware to Steelmaking” from the System Mall and handed it over.

Jiang Shuoye’s eyes lit up at the sight of the book appearing on the table.

He didn’t know what “steel” was, but with the precedent of the stirrups and saddles, as well as the three military books and horse-raising techniques that had benefitted him greatly, he was sure that this must be a good thing as well.

He first thanked Chu Jiubian for his kindness, then picked up the book.

The book had transformed to fit the era, both in terms of text and binding methods – only the paper was of much better quality.

From Forging Ironware to Steelmaking?

Jiang Shuoye understood immediately upon reading the title.

Steel should be a better weapon material than iron, and was created from iron itself.

Such a miraculous thing must never be made known to outsiders.

Even Great Ning’s four great families and seven vassal kings should be kept in the dark as much as possible.

It seemed he would need to find some suitable blacksmiths and build a workshop. These people must be discrete, reliable, and have clean backgrounds.

Just as he was making his plans, he heard the High Priest say: “This method of steelmaking forges divine weapons. Do not let it be known to others, lest they create trouble.”

Jiang Shuoye immediately stood up and bowed: “This subordinate understands.”

“If you ever need anything from me in the future, simply chant my name and state what you wish to ask,” Chu Jiubian added.

Jiang Shuoye readily agreed.

This way, he could seek out the High Priest when he needed to.

“Is there anything else you would like to report?” Chu Jiubian asked.

“No, this subordinate has nothing else,” Jiang Shuoye replied.

“Then go,” Chu Jiubian said, and had the System send him out.

Inside his tent, Jiang Shuoye opened his eyes and immediately sat up to look under his pillow. Sure enough, he found the book on steelmaking.

He walked to the corner and pressed down to reveal a secret compartment.

The compartment contained many letters, as well as the three blueprints Chu Jiubian had given him before. He put this new steelmaking method into it as well.

He would put setting up the workshop on hold for now. He first needed to clarify the issue of the stirrups and saddles.

The High Priest needed faith, so this matter should be spread as widely as possible.

Chu Jiubian also exited the Divine Realm. Seeing that it was still early, he took a nap before waking up.

He hadn’t gone to work in the morning, so in the afternoon, he thought he would go to the government office and get to know the local officials better.

He instructed Xiao Xiangzi to prepare a sedan chair, then proceeded toward the palace gates.

Inside the study in Yangxin Hall’s western courtyard, Qin Chaoyang reported: “My Lord, the Young Master has left the palace. The bodyguards are following him.”

Qin Xiao continued reviewing memorials without looking up.

Qin Chaoyang continued: “Those people have also made their move.”

Qin Xiao paused, then closed the memorial and stood up: “You stay and guard His Majesty.”

Qin Chaoyang agreed. When he looked up again, his master had disappeared.

There was a soft noise behind him. When Qin Chaoyang turned around, he saw a man dressed in black with a straw hat on his head.

He sat lazily on a chair with one leg propped up, a black mask concealing his face.

Qin Chaoyang was not surprised at all. He nodded, saying: “You’re here.”

The man’s voice sounded young as he said with a smile: “Tell me about that Jiu-gongzi.”

*

*

Outside the palace.

Chu Jiubian traveled along Chang’an Street aboard the sedan chair.

There was still some distance to the Six Ministries. The wide road was flanked by high palace walls the whole way, with tall, sturdy trees planted both inside and outside those walls.

Chu Jiubian was browsing the System Mall when he felt the sedan-bearers suddenly slow down, then stop completely after a few steps.

“Young Master, someone is blocking the road,” a sedan-bearer said calmly.

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Jiubian heard the sound of an arrow whistling through the air outside, as well as the clash of weapons.

Someone had intercepted the arrow shot from the shadows.

This location was not far from the palace and the Six Ministries.

In broad daylight, on this wide, stately official road, these people dared to attack an official appointed by the Imperial Court.

They disregarded the Imperial Guards, as well as the power of the throne.

This was the nature of noble families.

How arrogant!

Dozens of footsteps sounded from all directions, and dozens of assassins appeared with the sedan chair at the center.

At that moment, twenty guards appeared and formed a circle, protecting the sedan chair in the middle.

The guards and assassins immediately engaged in close combat battle.

None of them spoke; only the light sounds of disordered footsteps and the occasional thud of someone falling to the ground could be heard.

It was like a silent film.

Suddenly, several arrows shot toward the sedan chair.

The four sedan-bearers closest to the sedan chair drew longswords from a hidden compartment and cut the arrows in half before they could even touch the sedan chair.

Arrows had a limited range, so those people must be close by.

Chu Jiubian lifted the curtain slightly and took out the binoculars he’d just bought. Sure enough, he spotted several people crouched in trees a distance away.

He had initially thought these people would lure him to some secluded location, or perhaps attempt to poison him, but who would have thought that they were so lawless as to confront him directly?

So you’re going to use force, huh? You want me dead, right?

A strange light flashed through Chu Jiubian’s eyes.

This was an era where human life was as worthless as grass. As a powerful official in the court, if someone tried to kill him, he could kill them back without bearing any responsibility.

[Host, are you sure you want to spend 99 points to purchase a GLOCK19 pistol?]

“I’m sure.”

A heavy weight pressed into his hand, ice-cold to the touch.

It was loaded.

Chu Jiubian raised his hand and pointed the muzzle of the gun through the slightly open curtain of the sedan chair.

---

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Chapter 27 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 29

The mild, friendly aura perpetually shrouding Disi vanished, and was replaced by an unusual collectedness.

“You suspect I’m the poisoner?”

“He drank the wine you gave me. Since you know who I am, you must be aware that someone wants to kill me.”

“You ate a lot in front of me at the ball, and you ate the food I picked for you today. If I wanted to harm you, I had plenty of opportunities.”

“Even if you aren’t the poisoner, if I can’t confirm whether you’re friend or foe, I would rather kill you by mistake to eliminate a hidden danger.”

Croston’s garden and the main house presented two very different styles. Flowers were in full bloom, competing in beauty, and even at this time, there were a handful of hardworking bees and butterflies working overtime to collect nectar.

Disi thought deeply for a long stretch of time before slowly uttering a name: “Lu Hulun.”

“Lu Hulun sent you?”

“He’s my enemy as well.” Disi said word by word, “He murdered my wet nurse.”

Ling Yi waited patiently for him to continue.

“Not long after I was born, my biological parents placed me in the home of Viscount Qiao Wen, a bachelor. He knew nothing about taking care of children, so a maid who had just given birth became my wet nurse. She raised me from childhood to adulthood, and my feelings for her are even deeper than those for my biological mother.”

“My wet nurse’s biological son was the same age as me, but he was given away to be raised by someone else when he was born. That family treated him very poorly. He came looking for her several times, but was ruthlessly driven away each time. I didn’t understand how the wet nurse could be so gentle and kind to me, but so cold-hearted toward her own son. It wasn’t until she was executed in the street that I finally understood—”

Disi paused, recalling a scene he didn’t want to recall: “She was a member of the Bee Tribe.”

Ling Yi’s gun hand trembled slightly.

“This name rarely appears nowadays. You probably haven’t heard of it, right?”

Ling Yi feigned calmness: “I’ve heard a little bit.”

“The Bee Tribe was originally a minority group living in the mountainous regions of southwest China. They were named thus because their social structure resembled that of bees…..”

The Bee Tribe not only lived in groups and worked together like bees, but they also secreted saliva that could paralyze or even kill a person, known as bee venom.

They used to live peacefully in their own territory like other ethnic minorities, but seventeen years ago, for reasons unknown, they took the initiative to provoke conflict.

The most notable person who died in this conflict was Count Lu Bie’er, who was greatly respected and loved by the common people at that time.

Lu Hulun lost his beloved son, and in his rage, launched a genocidal war against the Bee Tribe. Not only were the Bee Tribe colonies in their territory completely slaughtered, but even those scattered around outside were not spared.

Since then, the empire had enacted a law that any remnants of the Bee Tribe that were found should be executed on the spot without trial.

In this way, over the past decade, the people of the Bee Tribe had long become extinct on this continent.

“My wet nurse survived several bloodbaths, concealed her identity, and worked as a servant in the home of a minor viscount. She didn’t even dare to recognize her own son. She was kind and gentle, had committed no crimes, and had never harmed anyone, yet she ended up dead in the street.”

“After my wet nurse died, her biological son finally learned about his background and came to me, wanting to avenge his mother. I devised a plan to send him to the Prime Minister’s office, and created an opportunity for him to save Lu Hulun’s life so as to gain his trust. He then spent several years gradually rising to a core position, and came into close contact with many of Lu Hulun’s plans. Naturally, we found out that he had sent his most capable assassin to the Royal Medical College to kill a helpless patient.”

Ling Yi got the gist of it: “You approached me with a purpose from the beginning.”

“But my intention has never been to harm you.”

“Then what is it?”

“Whether you think I’m a kindred spirit or that I want to recruit more allies, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“You may have chosen the wrong ally. I’m a coward who loves life and can barely manage to survive. I won’t take any risks for the sake of revenge.”

“Have you forgotten about that drink? As long as Lu Hulun still lives, you are taking a risk every day you’re alive.” Disi said, “Of course, I’m not kidnapping you to join us. I can provide you with insider information. Even if you don’t intend to seek revenge, you can use this information to protect yourself.”

“You’ll provide me with information out of the goodness of your heart?”

“I may not have the power to overthrow Lu Hulun, but I can at least do my best to protect those he persecutes and prevent innocent people from suffering the same fate as my wet nurse.”

In order to express his sincerity, Disi even took the initiative to provide the first piece of information.

“The Royal Court’s Grand Justice went to see Lu Hulun. The two conspired for a long time, and a key piece of evidence vanished.”

Ling Yi became apprehensive: “What evidence?”

“A cell phone memory card that contained footage of a crime scene taken by an eyewitness. My informant was unable to access the memory card and the information inside it, but given that they chose to dispose of the evidence, there must be something there.”

“Where is that memory card now?” Ling Yi asked.

“As far as I know, it’s still at the courthouse, in the custody of the Grand Justice.”

Ling Yi fell silent. His instincts told him that this person was telling the truth, but he also knew that he must be hiding something from him.

Just as he was debating whether or not to lower the gun, a figure flashed between the two of them. A hand tightly grasped the barrel of the gun, forcing the muzzle to rest against the person’s own brow.

Ling Yi was shocked by his reckless behavior, and even more astonished by the identity of the person who appeared in front of him: “Captain Tang De?”

The Tang De before him was so serious that he was like a stranger. “You mustn’t shoot!”

He held the barrel tightly, not moving an inch, with a determination in his eyes that disregarded life and death.

“What are you doing?” Ling Yi had never seen Tang De like this before.

“You mustn’t shoot,” Tang De repeated firmly. “His Highness Oser has already used his power of pardon on you once. If you are sentenced for murder again, even His Highness won’t be able to save you.”

“I wasn’t going to kill him. I just wanted to question him about something.”

Tang De still refused to let go: “I believe you, but this conduct is too dangerous. Please let go first.”

“I didn’t release the safety.”

Ling Yi slowly loosened his grip to prove his words. Tang De swiftly turned the gun around and checked it, only to find that there was indeed no bullet loaded. He heaved a sigh of relief, as if he had survived a disaster.

“You really scared me to death. Can you please not use weapons so casually in the future? You scared half the life out of me last time, and I don’t have much left.”

He had returned to the usual Tang De, but Ling Yi’s impression of him had changed.

“Did you come here for me?”

Tang De put the gun away for safekeeping: “The poisoner has been caught, and His Highness Oser will preside over the trial. Let me take you back first.”

Hearing this, Ling Yi obediently turned and left, completely forgetting about the other protagonist left behind.

“Are we now companions in the same camp?” Disi asked loudly from behind.

“I didn’t promise you anything.”

Tang De turned halfway around and lowered his eyes with an imperceptible nod, then quickly caught up with Ling Yi.

It wasn’t until the two were completely gone that Disi spoke: “Come out.”

Du Bin emerged from the nearest bushes, gun in hand.

“Put that dangerous thing away. I can’t stand people like you who use weapons so casually.”

Du Bin did as he was told: “What if he threatens your life again next time?”

“There won’t be a next time.” Disi said confidently, “He believes me. It won’t happen again.”

. . . . . . 

When Ling Yi returned to the medical college, Lei Yue’s life was no longer in peril.

The lab department worked nonstop to produce a toxicology report, and Pat looked grim when he read it.

“What are the results?” Ling Yi asked. Lei Cheng was also there to question Pat.

“This poison mainly targets Omegas. Were an Omega to consume it, they would die on the spot, but since Lei Yue drank it by accident, it was…..”

He suddenly realized that it was inappropriate to say such a thing in front of Lei Cheng, and he swallowed back the words “a blessing in disguise” at the last moment.

But if the person who was poisoned tonight had been Ling Yi, he would probably be lying in the hospital morgue right now.

Ling Yi also felt some lingering fear, and at the same time felt deeply guilty toward Lei Yue.

“This person was likely targeting me. I’m sorry for bringing trouble to the Marshal’s family.”

Lei Cheng spoke in a robust, penetrating voice.

“Even if the target wasn’t a member of the Lei family, it was the Lei family’s guest. The Lei family motto is to avenge every grudge. I will absolutely uncover the mastermind behind this. I will not allow my son to have been poisoned in vain, and I will also find an explanation for His Highness Oser.”

Lei Yue had just woken up after having his stomach pumped, and came into the lounge when he heard the noise. He saw Ling Yi at first glance and said with pleasant surprise: “You came to see me.”

He then remembered that Lei Cheng was also present, and tensed as he called out: “Father.”

Lei Cheng looked at the two of them in turn: “Since a friend has come to visit you, greet him well. I will go and meet the brave warrior who dared to poison someone in Croston Manor.”

Lei Yue was visibly more relaxed once Lei Cheng left. It was evident that he held great respect for his father, the Marshal.

“Thanks for coming to see me. I’m alright now.”

Ling Yi was still struggling over whether to tell Lei Yue that he had been poisoned because of him.

Lei Yue noticed his dilemma: “I heard that I was poisoned with a highly toxic substance that targets Omegas. The person who poisoned me obviously didn’t mean to kill me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why should you apologize? You’re not the one who poisoned me.”

“I implicated you in this.”

“I’m actually glad it wasn’t you who drank that glass of wine.”

His face took on a look of concern: “Who on earth did you offend? They actually tried to poison you at my family’s banquet. Does His Highness Oser know about this?”

Ling Yi nodded hesitantly.

Lei Yue pursed his lips tightly and forced a smile: “Then I don’t need to meddle in this matter. His Highness Oser will definitely not allow such things to continue to happen.”

Ling Yi was silent, and Lei Yue didn’t know what to say next.

“If there is anything I can do to help, just ask. I’m okay now. You should go back soon.”

“I’m Ling Yi.”

Lei Yue froze.

“You’re not dead?”

“If not for luck, I would be dead several times over. But I managed to survive each time, just like now.”

“This time…..was it Lu Hulun too?”

“There shouldn’t be anyone else who wants to kill me.”

After getting over the shock of Ling Yi being alive, Lei Yue’s eyes gradually turned cold.

“I regret not being able to help you before when you were in trouble. Now that heaven has given me another chance, I won’t sit idly by this time.”

“I didn’t confess to ask for your help.”

“Then why did you?”

“To comfort you out of pity. Don’t be depressed over losing to two people – I’m the only one who defeated you from beginning to end.”

“……” 

“It’s too hasty to say ‘there’s no one else who wants to kill you.’” Lei Yue was full of resentment. “With your mouth, it’s impossible that you’ve never offended anyone else.”

“Then I’m lucky to be alive today.” Ling Yi waved at him from behind. “Since there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first.”

The person who was full of resentment a second ago was suddenly concerned about his destination.

“Wait, where are you going?” 

Ling Yi didn’t even turn around. “I also want to meet the brave warrior who poisoned someone at Croston Manor and find out which enemy I’ve offended.”

. . . . . .

The man hanging in the interrogation room was barely recognizable as a servant.

Barely, because he was covered in blood, and there was not a single intact part of his servant’s uniform.

Ling Yi felt physically uncomfortable with one glance through the glass. In comparison, the interrogation he received during his arrest could be considered mild.

“These soldiers have experienced many life-or-death situations, so their methods are naturally ruthless,” Oser explained to him. “If you feel unwell, just wait outside. The one who was poisoned is Lei Cheng’s son, and they won’t stop until they achieve a result.”

Ling Yi endured the discomfort and insisted on staying.

“What is that person’s identity?”

“A kitchen staff member. He’s worked at Croston for many years.”

“Lu Hulun’s spies have been lurking in the Marshal’s house for so long?”

“He wasn’t necessarily lurking. The old man uses all available tricks, including coercion, bribery, and even buying someone over at short notice.”

“Then has he confessed?”

“The torture was too severe, and he accused people randomly. The military is investigating them. In my opinion, his words might not be true.”

“What if he refuses to give them up even in death?”

“Lei Cheng personally made clear that we can use any means necessary.”

“What constitutes ‘any means necessary?’”

Ling Yi’s question was answered through practical application.

The door of the interrogation room was opened, and a blindfolded little girl was brought in.

The girl looked to be only five or six years old. She was small and thin, and her clothes were worn but very clean.

The pupils of the dying middle-aged man instantly dilated. He struggled hard, but didn’t make a sound.

“I’ll give you ten seconds to reconsider.” The interrogator moved to take off the blindfold. “Ten…..”

The man’s eyes were bloodshot as he tried to gouge the flesh out of the other person with just his gaze.

The interrogator ruthlessly slammed the electric baton in his hand into his ribs. The man convulsed in agony, veins popping out in his forehead and neck, but he remained silent. Blood flowed from the corners of his tightly clenched mouth.

“Nine, eight, seven……”

As the countdown sounded, the little girl grew more and more frightened. She hunched her neck and trembled, and the blindfold couldn’t stop her tears from flowing.

“Six, five, four……”

The man began to shake his head desperately, silently pleading, but he received no mercy from the other party.

Oser knew that Ling Yi wouldn’t be able to bear this: “You should leave first.”

Ling Yi rushed out the door as the interrogator counted down to the end: “Three, two, one…..”

The interrogation room opened with a gust of wind, and at nearly the same moment the blindfold came off, a hand covered the little girl’s eyes.

“Don’t look.”

There was wetness against his palm.

“Don’t cry. Don’t be afraid.”

Ling Yi turned around with the little girl: “The door is right in front of you. Gege is taking you out.”

He took the little girl out of the room and ran into Oser as he came through the next door.

“Sorry, Your Highness, for ruining the plan. I guess I couldn’t help giving in to my soft heart.”

“It doesn’t surprise me that you would do this.” Oser sent someone to pick up the little girl.

“I suppose we won’t be able to ask anything else this time.”

Ling Yi had no regrets, but he couldn’t help feeling frustrated.

“At worst, I can just go out and act as bait a few more times. If they make enough attempts, they’ll definitely slip up somewhere.”

Oser gave him a warning look: “This is the last time. Everyone knows what the result will be, but there is a lack of direct evidence. If the person inside refuses to confess, we’ll fabricate evidence. Dead men tell no tales. But I will never allow you to take another risk.”

The interrogator came out with perfect timing: “He confessed.”

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Chapter 34 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 36

Chapter 59 – Once and For All

Lu Chengye gritted his teeth. If he’d had the materials here, he would have turned each of those people into little cursed dolls.

He was helpless. How could he have failed in such a one-sided situation!

And he was truly defeated. The golden arrow had been destroyed, and all of his spirit stones were used up. He couldn’t even wield the Heaven-grade weapon in his hand.

This was truly a case of failing to achieve a goal and suffering an even bigger loss.

So even though he knew where Fang Yang and Cao Zirui were, he didn’t dare approach them.

To him, the Burning Sky Bow and the golden arrow were no different from pieces of rubbish. He only had himself, and his two fists were no match for four hands. And now there were even more hands, because that damn Feng Ye was here too!

It was all just dog shit luck! It was enough for that bastard Feng Ye to get lucky and win against him, but those two bastards Fang Yang and Cao Zirui got lucky too. Otherwise, how could the golden arrow have broken so strangely?

The Floating Island Secret Realm had opened who knew how many times, and he had never heard of any earthquakes. Neither too early nor too late, the earthquake centered directly on the location of the golden arrow, breaking the Earth-level weapon he had obtained with great difficulty.

If he gave this excuse to Xue Ren, there was a 90% chance that he wouldn’t believe it. He would just think Lu Chengye was deceiving him and kill him in a temper.

He wasn’t being overly-suspicous. Xue Ren really was likely to do so.

And even if Xue Ren didn’t kill him, the Sect Leader definitely would once he found out what Cao Zirui had been through.

Wouldn’t it be child’s play for a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator to crush him?

Thinking about it this way, he really had no way out – all thanks to those three people. The more Lu Chengye thought about it, the more hateful he became. He cursed Feng Ye, Fang Yang, and Cao Zirui over ten times. He didn’t know Hao Chen, so he was able to escape his wrath.

A bunch of useless people who had nothing to their names but luck! Lu Chengye thought with a complete lack of self-awareness that he was the only one who was truly conscientious and down-to-earth.

He didn’t steal or rob, and he won the competition with his own ability. What? Poisoning? He was still capable of poisoning.

How unfair the world was! He was such an honest and hardworking person, but whereas he was unlucky, those three experienced good luck one after another.

No, he couldn’t just accept his fate like this! Lu Chengye abruptly clenched his fists. If he was going to die anyway, he might as well give it one more try!

He glared fiercely in the direction of those four people. Killing intent spread out wildly, but he realized that although he wasn’t close, he wasn’t far from them either. This could easily alert the enemy, so he quickly restrained himself.

But although he quickly brought himself under control, the bell hanging on Cao Zirui’s waist still sensed it.

Ding-ling. The silent bell all of a sudden gave a short ring, so short that if there was a little more noise in the environment, he wouldn’t have noticed it at all.

But Cao Zirui was particularly sensitive to the sound of this bell. At almost the same time the bell rang, the expression on his face changed mid-conversation with Fang Yang, and he looked around warily.

Fang Yang also heard the bell, but he wasn’t as sensitive as Cao Zirui. It was only when he noticed Cao Zirui’s change of expression that he realized what the bell signified. He immediately stood back to back with Cao Zirui, simultaneously calling for his Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage to come over and form a circle to facilitate defense.

But when Feng Ye and Hao Chen saw the two gesturing toward them, they stood there unmoving, looking at each other speechlessly instead.

The only thing that could pose a threat to them in the Floating Island Secret Realm was each other. When the two of them started to fight, even the lawless monsters in the sea had to stand aside. 

Of course, this was something they kept to themselves and didn’t speak out loud.

Fang Yang and Cao Zirui stood together warily for a long stretch of time, but there was no movement around them. The bell didn’t ring again after that first instance.

The two of them could only gradually relax. Cao Zirui analyzed: “It might not be Lu Chengye. Perhaps it was a passing monster. It should have left by now, so the bell hasn’t rung again.”

Fang Yang wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief: “Just a false alarm.”

Since there was nothing to worry about, they began to hit the road again. But Feng Ye suddenly said: “Can you show me that bell?”

As he spoke, he glanced at Cao Zirui’s belt. The golden bell swayed with his movements, but no longer made any sound.

Cao Zirui was taken aback. Although he didn’t understand, he still took off the bell and handed it to Feng Ye.

Feng Ye held the bell in his hand and poured a trace of spiritual power into it. Although magic tools differed from magic arrays, they were essentially the same. No matter their operation system, they were always powered by spiritual energy. The flow of that energy would tell him information that couldn’t be gleaned from the surface.

For example…..this bell was actually one of a pair of mother and child bells. Cao Zirui’s was actually the child bell. Although it could be used for early warnings, it also continuously emitted small spiritual leads so tiny that they were almost undetectable, allowing the mother bell to track its real-time location.

Feng Ye’s eyes narrowed. He had long suspected that Lu Chengye had a means to track Cao Zirui and Fang Yang through the dense jungle, because they were never able to lose him. There had to be a reason for that. And as it turned out, the problem lay with this bell.

“This is a nice-looking bell. Did someone give it to you?” Feng Ye asked, calm and composed.

Although he asked this in a veiled way, Hao Chen beside him knew exactly what he was asking. Feng Ye had suddenly stopped and asked to look at the bell, so there must be something wrong with it.

He didn’t expose Feng Ye, but instead acted as an ignorant spectator.

And Fang Yang and Cao Zirui were the actual ignorant spectators. The two of them still didn’t realize that something was wrong with the bell. Cao Zirui thought for a moment before replying: “My shixiong gave it to me before I left. Thanks to this bell, I was able to escape Lu Chengye’s pursuit several times.”

Although they were from the same sect, in terms of age, Feng Ye could be considered Cao Zirui’s shixiong. However, in terms of seniority, there was only one person qualified to be called Cao Zirui’s “shixiong.”

Xue Ren.

“Xue-shixiong is such a good person!” Fang Yang told Cao Zirui with admiration.

Cao Zirui nodded in agreement. Although he rarely spoke with his shixiong – because Xue Ren almost never took the initiative to talk to him and Cao Zirui’s own personality was rather introverted – the two sect siblings had always been familiar strangers.

But before he left, Xue Ren had suddenly given him such a gift. Although Cao Zirui didn’t say anything, he secretly kept this favor in his heart, thinking that if he found some precious spiritual plants this time, he would take them and give them to Xue Ren as a return gift.

It was a pity that he hadn’t found any worthwhile spiritual plants during his escape. He would have to think of some other way to repay the favor. With this in mind, Cao Zirui sighed with regret.

“Xue Ren…..” Feng Ye whispered to himself. He hadn’t paid much attention to Xue Ren as a person. He was more concerned about Xue Ren’s master, Sect Leader Ji Chengyue.

The only close encounter he’d had with Xue Ren was their unexpected encounter that night.

Although it had only been one encounter, Feng Ye had discovered that this person was duplicitous.

If Xue Ren was not the kind, gentle, good-hearted person he appeared to be, then everything could be explained.

For some reason, perhaps from jealousy or the fear that his master’s other personal disciple would threaten his position, he had attempted to murder Cao Zirui through Lu Chengye.

This explained the unknown high-level magic weapon in Lu Chengye’s hands. How had a Qi Refining stage disciple like him obtained such a treasure, and why had he hunted down Cao Zirui, a person he had no grudges against? Everything was connected.

Feng Ye had already painted a picture of the outcome of this pursuit in his mind, and was lost in thought for a long time. Fang Yang and Cao Zirui were a little puzzled as they stared at him. They didn’t understand what Feng Ye was doing with the bell for such a long time.

Feng Ye met their puzzled gazes and smiled, then handed the bell back to Cao Zirui.

He didn’t say a word as he watched Cao Zirui tie it back onto his belt.

He had no evidence. Lu Chengye attacking him under Xue Ren’s orders and the real reason Xue Ren gifted him the bell were all just suppositions.

What he could see may not be the whole truth. If there was another mastermind behind Xue Ren, could he have given Cao Zirui the bell out of ignorance? If he rashly told Cao Zirui, not only would he alienate his fellow disciple, but he might also wrongly accuse a good person.

So Feng Ye didn’t say anything. But now that he knew Cao Zirui was carrying a tracker, he couldn’t just ignore it entirely.

The reason the bell rang just now was not what Cao Zirui had guessed, that it was just a monster passing by. This child bell could transmit its location to the mother bell through an invisible thread of spiritual power, but similarly, Feng Ye could locate the mother bell through this thread.

Feng Ye had already realized that Lu Chengye was following them nearby. This fellow was unscrupulous, and must have some ulterior motive.

He didn’t destroy Cao Zirui’s tracker, which was constantly reporting his location, because he planned to directly eliminate the source.

Feng Ye suddenly clenched his fist and smacked it into his palm, as if he had just remembered something important. He said to the three of them with some vexation: “I left something at camp. I’ll go back and get it.”

“Ah? Is it important?” Fang Yang couldn’t help but glance at the sky when he heard this. Although they weren’t in a hurry, they also didn’t have very much time. If they had to backtrack, they might not make it in time.

Feng Ye nodded.

Fang Yang rolled up his sleeves and prepared to run: “What is it? I can run fast, so I’ll get it for you.”

Feng Ye: “……”

Hao Chen covered his lips with his mini fan and couldn’t help but chuckle.

He had also guessed most of what Feng Ye had figured out. He’d met Xue Ren as well and witnessed his duplicity, so he easily came to a conclusion and was on the same page as Feng Ye.

And he also knew that when Feng Ye said he had to go back, he didn’t really mean it. Feng Ye was probably going to solve this problem once and for all.

So before Feng Ye could reject Fang Yang’s offer, he conscientiously covered for him. He pushed Fang Yang and Cao Zirui forward, one hand on each of their backs: “The thing belongs to your shixiong, and he’s the only one who knows what it is. It would be a waste of time for you to go. We can wait for him as we walk – Fellow Daoist Feng Ye will definitely catch up with us, right?”

When he said this last sentence, he turned and winked at the slightly stunned Feng Ye.

Feng Ye stared for a moment, but soon returned to his senses and agreed: “Right, I’ll catch up with you. No need to wait for me.”

“But….” Fang Yang took two steps when he was pushed, but he was still a little worried. How could he just go ahead and leave his Useless Shixiong behind? 

So he jumped to the side to evade Hao Chen’s insistent hand, turning to look at Feng Ye.

Feng Ye waved to the anxious-looking Fang Yang and assured him with a smile: “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely catch up with you.”

His attitude was so firm that Fang Yang had no ability to persuade him, and could only helplessly follow Cao Zirui and Hao Chen as they continued forward.

Feng Ye watched their retreating backs. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Hao Chen suddenly turned his head and smiled at him.

In fact, when Hao Chen didn’t insist on making things difficult for him but instead offered his help, he was indeed a rare source of assistance. 

It had been obvious since their first meeting that there was an inexplicable tacit understanding between them. Therefore, even though he hadn’t left anything behind at all, the two of them were able to stick to their story.

So just now, even with Feng Ye not saying a word, Hao Chen had guessed what he was going to do and covered for him in a timely manner.

At first, Feng Ye was unable to believe that Hao Chen had good intentions, so he was a little stunned. But now it seemed that Hao Chen was honestly helping him.

He was a little prejudiced against Hao Chen, Feng Ye reflected on himself. He sent Hao Chen a grateful nod, then turned and left in the opposite direction.

Hao Chen watched Feng Ye’s figure disappear into the depths of the jungle, then turned back and landed a meter away from Fang Yang and Cao Zirui, following them unhurriedly.

Fang Yang deliberately slowed his pace to make it easier for Useless Shixiong to catch up with them, murmuring to Cao Zirui as he walked: “I wonder what’s so important that he has to go back for it at a time like this.”

Cao Zirui thought for a moment, then replied: “It must be something of great importance. Don’t speculate, he’ll definitely catch up with us.”

“Ai.” Fang Yang sighed dejectedly.

As they talked back and forth, Hao Chen didn’t interrupt them.

He followed the two of them in silence. After walking for about half an incense stick’s time, Hao Chen estimated that the distance was close enough. The corners of his mouth suddenly curved up.

It was true that he was helping Feng Ye, but…..honestly, it couldn’t be called that.

He put his hands behind his back when Fang Yang and Cao Zirui weren’t looking. A feather dropped out of his sleeve, and before it could drift to the ground, it transformed into a lifelike crow.

The crow flapped its wings and flew into the jungle behind the three of them, chasing after that lone, departing figure.

How can I miss a big show starring Feng Ye? Hao Chen thought with a smile.

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Chapter 58 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 60